Public pensions

Fitch said Illinois has to resolve questions on Tier 2 pension benefits, and fixing Tier 2's failure to meet IRS safe harbor provisions would be credit neutral.

A state judge issued a temporary injunction against enforcement of the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, which has led to the ban of seven financial firms, including four big municipal bond underwriters, from government contracts.

The California Supreme Court will hear a case challenging the state's 2013 pension changes, after seemingly settling the issue with a 2020 ruling.

Since war broke out on Oct. 7 between Israel and Hamas, over $1.64 billion of Israel bonds have been sold to more than 35 U.S. states, counties, cities and municipalities.

The University of Chicago's Harris School Policy Innovation Challenge is a "Shark Tank"-style competition in which eight teams took on Chicago's pension problem.

The initiative proposed by business interests would amend California's constitution to prevent the state from approving tax increases without a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature and voter approval.

With economic uncertainty ahead and the Federal Reserve potentially shifting to interest-rate cuts, analysts should take a closer look at individual issuers' financial disclosures.

Pensions funds are increasingly investing in riskier asset classes, with more than half their investments in 2022 in these, according to some estimates.

Meanwhile in New York, the state doubles down on climate investments and restricts investments in some big oil and gas companies as the city blasts several big banks as they pull out from the Climate Action 100+ initiative.

The value of the fund rose from the $246.3 billion reported in the second quarter while returns improved to 6.18% in the third quarter from negative 1.59% in the prior period.