Perspective Pieces continued

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Suggested Reading: What if We Took Economics Seriously?
What would policy look like if we took basic principles of mainstream economics and applied them consistently? What if we looked past ideology and tried to find the policies that make the most sense and work towards an economy for everyone? These are the questions answered in Dean Baker's latest book, "Taking Economics Seriously." . . . more

Should Public Pension Plans Go Toxic?
Pension managers with huge recent losses are looking at Uncle Sam's PPIP plan to sell off troubled bank assets. Golden opportunity or bad idea? . . . more

Global
The overall global economy has returned to a reasonable level of economic growth, led by Asia. Such renewed growth follows the first global recession since just after World War II. Even as overall global growth has returned, it is uneven at best. Asia has returned to robust performance, led by China, India, and Singapore. The U.S. has returned to moderate growth, with numerous growth forecasts revised higher in recent weeks. . . . more

Milberg Announces New Service for Aggrieved Investors, Consumers, and Whistleblowers
Milberg’s team of full-time investigators, most of whom have FBI, NYPD and other government enforcement backgrounds, has been critical to Milberg’s ability to achieve excellent results for its clients by uncovering the facts used as evidence in the prosecution of claims. The depth and breadth of Milberg’s investigative team are unparalleled in the industry. . . . more

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Ben Bernanke recently said that the Federal Reserve is watching the job market closely. Well, the February jobs report came in last Friday and indicated that we lost 36,000 nonfarm jobs last month. The overall unemployment rate remained flat at 9.7%. Approximately fifteen million Americans are looking for work. If you are not looking for work, you are not considered unemployed. How does anyone calculate how many people are not looking for work? The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) compiles these numbers each month. Are you ready for this? The numbers are based on a survey. About 400,000 businesses and government agencies are asked how many jobs they added and cut each month. The unemployment number is also a survey of citizens (are you working, are you not working or are you not looking for work?). Nevertheless, survey or no survey, it pays to heed these numbers as investment decisions are made with these numbers in mind. . . . more

Happy Talk
The “dismal science” of economics typically focuses on “bad” news. We clearly face many significant challenges…no argument here. However, there are also many favorable developments taking place within the U.S. economy. This is our semi-annual update of “Happy Talk.” This Tea Leaf focuses ONLY on the “good” news . . . more

Government Officials Causing Funding Problem for Pension Plans
Over the last 15 plus years I have witnessed the actions of city, county and state government officials as they creatively looked for ways to save money on budgets and salaries. One of the commonly used strategies throughout the nation is one where governments encourage higher salaried employees to accept an 'opening window' by which these employees are credited 2-4 years of service towards their retirement. The credited years are then immediately added to the employee's total years of service towards receiving their pension. This is done even though these credited years of service were never funded by regularly scheduled employee/employer contributions and investment returns . . . more

Texas Pension Funds in Good Shape
Recent headlines from New Jersey and California indicate problems for some state public pension funds that manage the retirement investments and benefits of public school teachers, police, firefighters, municipal and other employees. But headlines tend to paint with a broad brush: There's a much brighter picture in Texas . . . more

Noise & Transition
The February U.S. employment data was subject to wide interpretation in regard to how the labor market is performing, with nasty East Coast weather during much of February greatly impacting the data. Economists refer to such data influence as “noise.” Still, the overall gist of the data was positive, with a transition to announced employment gains in coming months both expected and exceedingly welcome . . . more

Country Risk
The markets have been focused on the brighter outlook for the private sector as a result of the global stimulus efforts. It is now occurring to us that it was a zero sum game. That is, while governments have been providing liquidity, direct fiscal spending, and monetary base growth to the private sector, there will be a commensurate slowdown in public sector spending as deficits grow. . . . more

Todd-Veredus Adds Director for Public Pensions Marketing
Todd-Veredus Asset Management LLC (TVAM) announced today the appointment of Eddie B. Vandiver as its Director of Public Pensions Marketing. Mr. Vandiver will be responsible for new business development and service to the public pension market . . . more

Milberg LLP Wins Major Securities Fraud Trial Against Vivendi
On behalf of an international class of investors, Milberg LLP represented lead plaintiff the Retirement System for the General Employees of the City of Miami and several individuals in the successful prosecution of the recent securities fraud trial against French conglomerate Vivendi S.A. . . . more

This Way to the Exit
The Federal Reserve’s modest increase in its largely symbolic discount rate on February 18 was perhaps the most visible sign yet that its “exit strategy” is well underway. More moves to the exit will be undertaken in coming weeks and months, including the previously announced cessation in late March of its mammoth purchase of mortgage-backed securities . . . more

A Shot Across the Bow
Financial developments within Greece of recent weeks should be considered “a shot across the bow” for similar smaller nations such as Portugal, Spain, and Ireland. Such a warning shot regarding high debt levels should also be taken seriously by larger nations, including the United Kingdom and the United States. . . . more

The Best Days of My Life
I‘ve been waiting for the inspiration to write my first letter of 2010. It finally came to me while driving home from work recently. When I turned on my radio, Bryan Adams’ “Summer of 69” was the first song that came on. As Bryan sang “that summer seemed to last forever,” I couldn’t help but reflect on the summer of 2009. . . . more

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