John E. Petersen

Recent Articles

• The Management Factor
• Jun 1, 2001
• How well governments plan for, execute and report their financial affairs is becoming a decisive factor in credit ratings.

• Bet on the Tortoise
• Apr 1, 2001
• With the economy weakening, will the bottom drop out of the real estate market--and property-tax collections--again?

• Beware the Bouncing Tax Bill
• Feb 1, 2001
• State and local revenues are more exposed to an economic downturn because they're more attuned to nonstop economic growth.

• All Hail the Dowager Queen
• Dec 1, 2000
• What she lacks in youthful upside potential, she makes up for in mature dependability: The muni bond's heyday is coming.

• Protecting the Nest Egg
• Oct 1, 2000
• Public pensions are now well funded. But with the buildup in equities, they have taken on more investment risk.

• Tifs in the Hinterlands
• Aug 1, 2000
• Leveraging future revenues to build urban-like infrastructure is getting special attention in small towns that are growing like Topsy.

• Balancing Portfolios in a Dot-Com World
• Jun 1, 2000
• It's pretty straightforward. Those charged with investing public money have only four things to worry about: their fund's financial condition and cash flow; the state of the economy; what monetary and other regulators are up to; and how the markets are behaving, which is to say what other investors collectively are thinking about these same things and what they think will happen.

• The Muni E-Bond Revolution
• Apr 1, 2000
• With computers able to process tons of information quickly, the complicated muni market is a natural for electronic trading.
• 1 Comments

• The Not-So-Great GASB
• Feb 1, 2000
• Why should governments calculate value for something that can't be sold anyway? Who's going to buy a city street?