State looks to junk bonds to recover pension losses

Carolina Journal's Sarah Okeson reports that North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell is hoping to recover a potential $3.3 billion loss in the state's pension portfolio by investing in junk bonds and commodities. "A new law, signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue in June, lets the state treasurer put up to 5 percent of the pension’s assets into junk bonds and another 5 percent into inflation-resistant assets including commodities, timberland and securities tied to the Consumer Price Index."