Heather Gillers

Chicago

@WSJ reporter covering municipal bonds & pensions. Formerly @chicagotribune, @indystar, @beaconnews [email protected] (phone/signal) 929 384 3212 DMs open

Articles

Calpers CEO: Tariffs’ Impact Could Drag Out

1 week ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

Tariff-related losses could continue to hit workers' retirement portfolios through the summer, the CEO of the nation's largest pension fund told board members. Calpers chief executive Marcie Frost said that the California public worker fund fell $26 billion from a $532 billion high after the trade penalties went into effect.
Muni Tax Break Garners Key Support

1 week ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

Good news for state and local government bondholders: key House Republicans don't want to mess with the muni market. The $4 trillion market finances local infrastructure like high schools, roads and sewers. Narrowing the tax break on muni bond interest was one way Congress in 2017 considered paying for the original round of Trump tax cuts.
Global Stocks Are Suddenly Pension Darlings

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

Betting on America was working out for city and state pension funds. Now overseas stocks are pulling ahead. Last quarter as President Trump rolled out his tariff plans, global stocks lost 1.22%, while U.S. stocks lost 4.27%, according to FactSet total return data for the S&P 500 and the MSCI All-Country World Index. In April, as tariff announcements have roiled markets, those losses have amounted to 11.19% domestically and 10.14% internationally.
Calpers CIO Joins Chorus of Concern

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

The half-trillion dollar pension fund, which invests the retirement savings of firefighters, police and other public workers in California, has lost about $15 billion since Wednesday as stocks have cratered. or Subscribe to get unlimited access to articles. $1 per Week View Subscription options
Even Muni Investors Are Jittery

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

Prices for state and local bonds sank rapidly Monday and Tuesday after jittery investors unloaded the muni debt they had racked up last week when tariffs rocked markets. “It’s kind of incredible, we haven’t seen anything like this since the pandemic,” said Patrick Smith, senior director of municipal evaluations at ICE Data Services.
Tariff Relief Hopes Drive Japan's Nikkei Up 6%

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Kosaku Narioka |Heather Gillers

The Nikkei Stock Average jumped 6% Tuesday, helped by the news that Japan and the U.S. were preparing to start talks over what Tokyo could do to avert President Trump’s tariffs. The Nikkei's rally came after a 7.8% drop Monday, its largest one-day percentage decline since August. On Tuesday, electronics, financial and auto stocks posted strong gains in Japan. Tokyo Electron rose 8.7%, while Toyota and Nomura both gained over 7%. or Subscribe to get unlimited access to articles.
Calpers CIO Joins Chorus of Concern

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

The half-trillion dollar pension fund, which invests the retirement savings of firefighters, police and other public workers in California, has lost about $15 billion since Wednesday as stocks have cratered. "We share the concerns expressed by other investors," Calpers investment chief Stephen Gilmore said in written remarks Monday. He predicted the market turmoil could drag down the pension's June 30 year-end returns.
Japanese Stocks Open Higher

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Kosaku Narioka |Heather Gillers

Japanese stocks are surging in early Tokyo trading with the Nikkei Stock Average up 5.6% following a 7.8% drop on Monday following President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Market Losses Wallop Pension Funds

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

That’s how much the nation’s biggest pension fund has lost since Wednesday. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which is about 40% stocks, fell to $516.49 billion Friday from $531.55 billion before President Trump's tariff broadside. The change in the estimated daily market value of the pension fund, which serves firefighters, police and other public workers, is just one way to quantify the blow to regular people's retirement funds.
Stock Futures Edge Upwards

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Heather Gillers

Stock futures edged upward in aftermarket trading Monday after a day of market whiplash that ultimately left major indexes largely unchanged. In aftermarket trading, contracts tied to the Dow industrials, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 all gained more than 1%. The slight increases followed a day of wild swings touched off by erroneous headlines that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause in tariffs.