Public pensions

Houston, Phoenix, and Dallas are taking action to address fiscal challenges brought on by litigation, state actions and a ballot measure.

The governor is calling for a freeze on planned cuts to individual and corporate tax rates.

Texas, Oklahoma, and other Southwest states would jump on the bitcoin bandwagon amid a nationwide surge in bills to invest public money in cryptocurrencies.

A voter-approved charter amendment requiring a bigger police force spurred Moody's Ratings to revise its outlook on the city's A1 bond rating to negative.

The state House and Senate announced their spending plans for the upcoming biennium, including funding to continue and increase 2023's state-funded tax cut.

The largest issuance the Local Government Commission approved was $387 million of bonds for Mecklenburg County.

Moody's Ratings said the 2025 budget that passed Chicago's City Council this month won't materially alter the credit profile of the city, which it rates Baa3.

The budgeting constraints transformed the state's finances and bond ratings. But critics say the policy's downsides include the stifling of needed investments. 

Brad Briner said the state may need to issue short-term debt in the near future to pay for Hurricane Helene expenses.

The outlook change to negative comes in the wake of voter approval on Nov. 5 of a ballot measure requiring certain public safety spending by the city.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced an initiative to further exclude fossil fuels from pension funds' private portfolios to combat climate change.

Public pension benefit improvements could put credit pressure on states that enact them, the rating agency said this week.

A preliminary 9.3% return on investments in the year ending June 30 brought CalPERS' funded ratio to 75%, the public pension fund reported.

Pension analysts are calling for higher contributions even as financial conditions improve.

Houston and other Texas cities face financial pressure caused by weather disasters, public safety salaries and pensions, or capped property tax collections.

The agency cited a sustained commitment to healthy reserves and structural balance.

Chicago released a budget forecast that its corporate fund deficit will grow to $982.4 million in 2025 from $222.9 million at 2024's end.

In this episode, Howard Cure, Director of Municipal Bond Research at Evercore Wealth Management, discusses the improving state of public pensions, the ongoing challenges faced by states like New Jersey and Illinois, and the risks associated with pension obligation bonds.

Months after the SEC approved several spot bitcoin exchange-traded product shares, a number of Midwest public pension funds are dabbling in crypto investments.

The city's pensions funds for police officers, fire fighters, teachers, civil employees and school personnel, with a combined $274 billion in assets, returned 10% in the year through June, beating their 7% target, according to a news release Thursday from city Comptroller Brad Lander.