Government workers’ pensions may sound like an obscure topic, but it’s front and center in some of the most rancorous of today’s political discussion s. Retirement benefits for public workers are at the heart of the conflict between state and local governments and the unions representing their workers — and how that conflict gets resolved will affect investors in the municipal bonds issued by those states and cities. Let’s take a look at the looming public pension crisis, its effect on municipal finance and how accounting reform might help. Read full article > >

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Public-pension pitfalls: What municipal budget troubles mean for bond investors

BERLIN — European finance ministers agreed Friday to bolster the total capacity of their bailout funds to nearly $1 trillion, a temporary measure that aims to convince investors that they are serious about continuing to help struggling countries repay their debts. Read full article > >

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Euro zone pumps up bailout fund to nearly $1 trillion

Moody’s Investors Service will decide on banks’ credit ratings in mid-May, and Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup could be cut to a level just two notches above speculative grade.

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DealBook: 3 Major American Banks Brace for Moody’s Credit Downgrades

The breakdown on the BATS Global Markets exchange was stunning, but market disruptions have been common enough to rattle some investors’ confidence.

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Mishap at BATS Stock Exchange Is Indicative of Market

A bill making it easier for startup companies to use the internet to raise money from investors is backed by the US House of Representatives.

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US House backs crowdfunding bill

The milestone suggested that upbeat signals on the economy, along with low interest rates, are encouraging investors to take more risks.

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S.&P. 500 at Highest Close Since ’08

Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are stepping down at a time when investors wonder whether RIM has the ability to compete in the rapidly changing markets for smartphones.

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RIM’s Balsillie and Lazaridis Step Aside

A compromise seems to be at hand over how much of a loss investors should take on just over 200 billion euros in Greek government bonds.

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DealBook: Greece Inches Toward a Deal With Its Bondholders

U.S. Enrichment Corp ., which produces fuel for nuclear power plants, is having its own sort of meltdown. Disillusioned investors have wiped out 95 percent of the company’s market value since 2007. Standard & Poor’s has saddled it with a dismal CCC-plus credit rating. And USEC’s chief executive John Welch says that “clearly we’re coming to crunch time here.” Read full article > >

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‘Crunch time’ at troubled nuclear fuel plant

European Union countries will need to sell billions of dollars in bonds every week in 2012 to replace existing debt, and policymakers and investors are watching debt auctions for signs of weakness.

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DealBook: For Europe, Few Options in a Vicious Cycle of Debt

European Union countries will need to sell billions of dollars in bonds every week in 2012 to replace existing debt, and policymakers and investors are watching debt auctions for signs of weakness.

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DealBook: For Europe, Few Options in a Vicious Cycle of Debt

The Federal Reserve took another step in its gradual march toward greater openness by agreeing to disclose its board members’ expectations about future interest rates, according to newly released minutes of the Fed’s December meeting. The measure is designed to increase certainty and predictability about the Fed’s current policy of low interest rates — and thus encourage economic activity among investors and consumers. Read full article > >

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Federal Reserve will start disclosing officials’ quarterly projections

The new year has arrived, and so investors are inundated with all manner of lists: Best and worst stocks for 2012, forecasts of where the economy is going, favorite investments for the year and more. What’s an investor to do? You should start by ignoring those lists. Let’s conduct a little experiment to demonstrate why: Do a quick Google search for “where to invest in 2011.” I read through the first dozen or so. For the most part, the performance was pretty awful. Before the excuse-making starts — 2011 was an unusual year, the ECB/Fed intervened, etc. — let me clue you in to this fact: Forecasters are pretty awful every year. Read full article > >

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Investing in 2012: Get ahead of forecaster folly

ROME — Italy’s borrowing costs fell for a second day Thursday but the country’s new premier said his government has more to do before it convinces financial markets it can manage the heavy debts that have made it the focus of the eurozone crisis. Mario Monti said he was encouraged by the bond auctions at which the interest costs paid out by Italy to bond investors eased. He said his government of technocrats, in office for just a month and a half following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi, was preparing a package of measures to get the Italian economy moving again, including efforts to boost competition and liberalize the labor market. Read full article > >

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Italy’s Monti warns of ongoing market turbulence despite lower borrowing rates in auctions

Development zones in New York City have been drawn so that even projects in affluent areas can generate financing from foreign investors under a federal immigration program.

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New York Developers Take Advantage of Financing-for-Visas Program