Cuomo watch: Budget storm on the horizon?

That distant thunder you hear may be the rumbling of budget storm clouds. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's budget director instructed agencies to reduce spending by 2.5 percent for the next fiscal year, but who knows? They might have to cut more.

"I'm not even saying 2.5 is going to be the right number," Cuomo said a day after a letter surfaced ordering the reductions. Cuomo also postponed the annual midyear financial forecast and the customary November budget hearings. He cited uncertainty over the European debt crisis and delays in business-tax collections because of the summer's intense storms.

"There's significant volatility in the market right now," he said. "We want to make sure we have the best information possible, because we're going to start to make real decisions based on this information."

-- Yancey Roy