Bloomberg Cities & Debt: Defusing the Municipal Pension Bomb

Municipal Market Players Examine Debt Crisis and Solutions

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the heels of New Jersey's settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for masking the underfunding of its two biggest pension plans and misleading investors, Bloomberg examines the pending pension crisis and the impact it has on the fiscal health of U.S. municipalities at the Bloomberg Cities & Debt Briefing.

The full day program, being held on September 15, 2010 at 92YTribeca in New York City, will assess the scope of the municipal fiscal crisis and the pension problem, and look at where the opportunities are for investors in the muni market.

Once considered a safe haven for investors, municipal bonds are now seen as higher risk by investors like Warren Buffett, who told Congress this year that many state and local governments would soon face a “terrible problem” in refinancing their debt loads and that some could eventually need to be bailed out by the federal government. At the same time, the $2.6 trillion U.S. municipal bond market has hit historic lows this year and drawn big time investors like Susquehanna International, investor Wilbur Ross, and bond fund manager Bill Gross.

To address these topics, Bloomberg has brought together some of the most influential players on both sides of the table, including:

• Howard J. Cure, Director of Municipal Research, Evercore Wealth Management
• Fernando Ferrer, Former Borough President, The Bronx, New York
• Kenneth E. Goodreau, Chief Investment Officer, Department of the General Treasurer, Rhode Island
• Ronald C. Green, Houston City Controller
• Peter J. Hayes, Managing Director and Head of Municipals, BlackRock Inc.
• David Leininger, Chief Financial Officer, Dallas Area Rapid Transit
• Dean Martin, State Treasurer, Arizona
• Brian Mayhew, Chief Financial Officer, Bay Area Toll Authority
• James L. McIntire, State Treasurer, Washington State
• Jim Reynolds, CEO, Loop Capital Markets
• Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, State Treasurer, New Jersey
• Chriss Street, Orange County Treasurer
• Bill Thompson, Fmr. NYC Comptroller

As part of the program, the Bloomberg rankings team will release a 3-year ranking of state pension funds based on the percentage of plan assets that are available to fund projected benefits. The data has been collected from state reports and additional information collected by Bloomberg.

Bringing the power of Bloomberg to the executive conference business, Bloomberg LINK produces invitation-only, in-person gatherings that combine world-class editorial programming with peer-to-peer networking amongst the who’s who in influential communities. In this environment, participants engage in open discussions that lead to learning from each other’s expertise and experience. For more information, please visit www.bloomberglink.com.

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