pension funds

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Rattner May Have Quit Over Pay-to-Play Settlement

New York AG targets ex-car czar's company

(Newser) - Washington is dying to know why Steven Rattner quit after just months as President Obama’s car czar. One possible reason: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is pushing for a legal settlement with his company for its part in a pay-to-play scandal surrounding the state’s pension fund, sources...

Carlyle to Pay $20M to Settle Pension Probe

Private equity firm adopts ethics rules to end Cuomo inquiry

(Newser) - The Carlyle Group will pay a $20 million settlement and adopt strict new ethics rules to appease New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cuomo had threatened to bring charges against the group or its employees as part of his pay-to-play probe into New York’s...

NYC Probes Rattner's Firm in Pension Scandal

Quadrangle paid finders fees to indicted adviser's company

(Newser) - New York City authorities are investigating whether Quadrangle Group, formerly led by Obama car czar Steven Rattner, deceived managers of the city's pension funds, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rattner's firm, Quadrangle, paid finders fees to Searle & Co., which had been headed by now-indicted political adviser Hank Morris,...

Generous Pensions Toppling Hungarian Economy

Public spending dilemma threatens to engulf Eastern Europe

(Newser) - Pensions are at the heart of the Hungarian financial crisis threatening to drag down the Eastern European economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Three out of every 10 Hungarians currently collects a generous government pension, but the cost—around 10% of GDP and rising—has made the country's deficit unmanageable,...

Companies Desperate to Roll Back Pension Support

A 2006 law requiring firms to replenish pension loses may be latest victim of meltdown

(Newser) - Wall Street’s meltdown has diminished the value of US pension funds by $250 billion and cash-strapped companies are asking lawmakers to give them relief from rules that require them to make up the losses, reports the New York Times. The rules, designed to strengthen the pension system in the...

Crisis Drains $2T From Retirement Savings

Tumbling values may mean more workers have to stay on jobs longer, retire later

(Newser) - The financial crisis has drained $2 trillion from Americans' retirement savings over the  past 15 months, reports the Washington Post, a 20% drop in the value of pensions and 401(k) plans that may force many to retire later and could spread to the general economy as workers tighten belts further....

Tough Times Ground Hedge Fund High-Fliers

Specialized investment industry dragged back to earth by shaky market

(Newser) - The recent market turmoil has taken a good deal of the shine off of hedge funds, as managers are unable to reproduce their heretofore exemplary results in poor market conditions, the New York Times reports. The average hedge fund lost 4% this year, the worst overall results in the industry’...

Wall Street May Scoop Up Troubled Pension Plans

Businesses stand to benefit, but opponents worry about big guns' motives

(Newser) - Though still smarting from the subprime debacle, some of the Wall Street’s biggest players are lobbying the government to be allowed to buy up and manage some of the $2.3 trillion in US corporate pension funds, BusinessWeek reports. Many businesses, eager to get the plans off their books,...

Social Responsibility Costs Calif. Pension Funds Billions

Keeping pension money out of tobacco, emerging markets has cost billions

(Newser) - California's plan to put state pension funds in socially responsible investments means those funds are worth billions less than they would be if they'd been allowed to invest in tobacco companies and emerging markets, BusinessWeek reports. The initiative, launched in 2000, also pushed investment in California real estate—where the...

Where's Oil Money Going? Maybe to Your Pension

Petroleum proceeds boost retirement funds

(Newser) - Wall Street brokers and energy speculators aren’t the only ones lining their pockets thanks to skyrocketing oil prices, the Washington Post reports. Many pension funds have pushed heavily into commodities, bringing big returns in a time of economic strife. “Our commodity investment has really helped,” said the...

Many Retirees Will Have Less Than They Think

Economist compares direct-benefit to direct-contribution plans

(Newser) - Many employees will enter retirement with a much smaller income than they expect, the Economist reports. By 2014, the amount of money saved in direct-contribution retirement plans—ie 401Ks—will outpace than the amount saved in old-fashioned direct-benefit plans. But workers set contributions to their DC schemes at lower levels...

Oil Insanity Pinned to Speculators
Oil Insanity Pinned to Speculators
Feb 28, 2008 5:54 PM CST

Oil Insanity Pinned to Speculators

Observers call current market 'hysteria' — and 'bubble'

(Newser) - Crude-oil prices have doubled in recent months, a development not linked to fundamental supply and demand—but rather, observers tell Der Spiegel, to rampant speculation among investors looking for a stable buck. The prospect of recession would typically drive prices down, but analysts say a decade-old oil investment rush by...

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