In his latest attempt to save jobs and keep businesses in Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced $20m of incentives to keep UBS's flagship trading floor and other operations in this city.

But lawmakers and academics said the potential deal raised questions about the viability of Malloy's economic development policies. In the past eight months, his administration has doled out more than $120m in tax incentives and forgivable loans to companies such as insurance giant Cigna, sports broadcaster ESPN and ticket resale website TicketNetwork to fuel their expansion and hiring.