Up against a Wall, Street scene...

Recent work on the economy from NYC:

There’s a palpable shift in the mood of the financial districts of New York City. The hotshots of a booming economy are now the pariahs of a recession. Wall Street's mood has plummeted like the price of shares that power the economic engine.

The offices of financial powerhouses crowd together downtown. Their density occludes the sun, which barely touches the ground on the dark streets. Power ties and gelled hair take smoke breaks in the shade of the marble facades, and movement on the floor of the stock exchange slows to a crawl, a far cry from the freneticism of a couple years ago.

Even in Midtown, where late afternoon light hits the avenues, shadows cling heavily to the etched walls of towering skyscrapers, where a nebulous collection of well-dressed men decide the fate of the world’s economy.