pensions

My favorite economic entertainer is back with his usual over-the-top semi-apocalyptic comments about government officials, the U.S. and more.  Here are a few choice quotes from Dr. Doom followed by the full videos of his session on…

Employees of US states and cities have much better pension plans than do Average Americans and this is creating some serious budgetary problems, one reason to be very careful in assessing municipal bonds, particularly general revenue ones.…

While many companies can use the huge increase in market returns to mask a looming pension crisis, the problem is still acute. Because of actuarial accounting, pension funding problems are pro-cyclical.  Companies look flush with cash…

This story is on the front page of Business Week: Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is struggling to save his city from fiscal calamity. Unemployment is at a record 28% and rising, while home prices have plunged 39% since 2007. The 66-year-old…

Morgan Stanley’s piece on Treasuries Priced for Perfection...for Now! is pretty bearish. The basic gist is that while the ten-year represents fair value today, because inflation expectations have become unanchored, Morgan Stanley expects…

Economist's View: "China and the American Jobs Machine" (And don't fall into the Blame Asia Meme https://bit.ly/pseaY) 买黄金! | egghat's blog (This German post says that owning gold was illegal in China six years ago. Now the…

Bill Gross of Pimco spoke on Bloomberg with Tom Keene and Ken Prewitt. He thinks the U.S. is entering a new normal of low nominal GDP growth. However, financial bets have been made on 6-7 percent nominal GDP (think pension…

I have really started to dislike municipal bonds as an asset class. They have seen a huge rally along with almost every other financial asset but the underlying fundamentals are weak because of financial distress at states and…

Bond insurer Ambac Financial has warned bankruptcy is a distinct possibility, sending its shares plummeting more than 30% today. What is intriguing about this pending bankruptcy is how this company escaped bankruptcy in 2008, was…

I am feeling fairly ill so posting will be light today. Hopefully, I will back in shape tomorrow. VIDEO: Former Brit Ambassador Craig Murray Says UK and USA Sent Prisoners to Uzbekistan for Torture Part 1 Patrick J. Buchanan…