NEW YORK, NY January 29, 2008 —REPORTER: Two of the 4 aren't predicting a recession, but they noted some troubling signs - including a major dip in home construction, a credit crunch that forces consumers and businesses to pay higher interest rates on loans; and weaker consumer spending.

To which Spitzer responded...

SPITZER: Anybody have anything positive to say?

ROSEN: I think that foreign capital flows are the offset to this. They helped re-capitalize a number of our banks and investment banks. And they clearly are going to be interested in the real estate market as well, but probably at a lower price level than at the peak level.

REPORTER: Ken Rosen is a professor at University of California, Berkeley. He said a weak dollar has brought foreigners, and their money, to the city.

They've provided New York with a financial cushion, by staying in hotels and buying property while their governments buy up stakes on Wall Street.