By Tim Price, originally published on Next New Deal
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Pensions and Private Equity (NYT)
In a letter to the editor, Roosevelt Institute Fellow Saqib Bhatti says huge public pension funds like CalPERS should use the power at their disposal to demand greater transparency from financial firms instead of worrying that those firms will stop doing business with them if they press too hard.
Public officials have tremendous leverage. If just a handful of large pension funds refused to sign confidentiality agreements that prevent disclosures about pricing, those terms would change. Calpers took a giant step in the right direction recently when it decided to pull out of hedge funds because of high fees.
American taxpayer dollars are among the largest pools of capital in the world. Wall Street should be afraid to get on our bad side, not the other way around.
For more, see below the fold.
City Pays High Price for Interest Rate 'Deals' (Chicago Reporter)
Experts like Saqib Bhatti and Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Brad Miller say banks misrepresented the risks of Chicago's interest rate swaps, and they've cost the city hundreds of millions, writes Curtis Black.
Comcast: Broadband Battleground (FT)
The merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable would create a monopoly on high-speed Internet comparable to 19th century railroad barons, Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford tells Matthew Garrahan.
25 European Banks Fail Stress Test (Reuters)
A group of Europe's biggest banks had a collective capital shortfall of 25 billion euros in 2013, Laura Noonan and Eva Taylor report, which would put them at risk in the event of another economic shock.
5 Ways America Is Failing Millennials -- And What to Do About It (Vox)
Millennials face a unique set of public policy challenges, writes Reid Cramer, from their inability to find long-term employment and benefits to their distaste for hyper-partisan politics.
Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Fair Food Label Makes National Debut (AP)
The CIW, which received the Roosevelt Institute's Freedom from Want Medal in 2013, says the new label will identify tomatoes picked by workers who are paid a premium and afforded basic rights.
Commission Greenlights Grocery Deliveries by Struggling Postal Service (WaPo)
In a two-year trial for a potential nationwide program, the USPS will raise revenue by delivering groceries in San Francisco, despite concerns from private grocery-delivery services, writes Josh Hicks.