Friday, September 3, 2010

New York State Pension Fund Opens Wormhole! (Musical Tribute)

Congratulations New York! Your pension fund has successfully time traveled to February 14, 1995.

September 2, 2010
NYS lowers pension fund's rate of return to 7.5 pct

(Reuters) - New York state's pension fund lowered its annual rate of return for investments by half a percentage point to 7.5 percent...


Click to enlarge.



As seen below, the Valentine Day's wormhole would also help explain the overabundance of New York State Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, end tables, and ladies' buttersoft lambskin swing coats.

February 14, 1995
On Sale, and All in the Name of Love

Ever hopeful, Michael Javer offered up chihuahuas at half price this week. "We find sometimes that people think of puppies on Valentine's Day as a sign of warmth, love and all that good stuff," said Mr. Javer, the manager of American Kennels on the Upper East Side. Of course, his instincts are hardly unique.

All week, retailers have wooed shoppers with promotions for things they never knew they needed, like discounted Pomeranians, end tables and ladies' buttersoft lambskin swing coats.


Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate

8 comments:

  1. "buttersoft"

    Must have been sitting out on the table for awhile.

    ReplyDelete
  2. watchtower,

    "Under-the-table" seems more likely. It is a pension we're talking about here.

    CalPERS Advances Placement Agent Policy - Would Require Disclosure of Agent, Fees

    Recently, federal and state investigators have alleged that certain placement agents may have paid bribes or kickbacks in “pay-to-play” arrangements to help their investment firm clients obtain capital commitments from public pension funds.

    “Any such arrangement is obviously unacceptable, “said Joseph Dear, CalPERS Chief Investment Officer. “Under-the-table practices also undermine our commitment to appropriate standards of transparency, accountability and integrity in our investment process.”

    ReplyDelete
  3. The English used by financial people becomes ever more bizarre. "New York state's pension fund lowered its annual rate of return for investments by half a percentage point to 7.5 percent" means something like 'New York state's pension fund will now pretend that it will make 7.5 percent per annum on its investments' whereas "its annual rate of return for investments" will be whatever it will be: minus 15 percent per annum for all I know; and, more to the point, for all they know.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mark,
    Did you see this?

    5 Doomsday Scenarios for the U.S. Economy

    "It's been a brutal summer for the economy. The housing sector, like a balloon batted in the air one last time by the government credit, resumed its inevitable fall."

    http://tinyurl.com/2a45djy

    Is there any chance that there could be 6 doomsday scenarios instead of 5?

    : )

    ReplyDelete
  5. dearieme,

    7.5% is 5x the current 5-Year Treasury Note rate of 1.48%. Such modest goals should ensure that they don't need to make any seriously risky bets with their prized pension fund assets.

    No doubt about it. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  6. watchtower,

    Doomsday Scenario #6

    You share the "5 Doomsday Scenarios for the U.S. Economy" article with two bloggers, and they share with 2 bloggers, and so on, and so on.

    ReplyDelete