finance

Let’s say your city needs cash to build a new school or sewer system. The budget lacks funds and the state government is only willing to pay a small share. What does your city do? Most likely, it issues a municipal bond.

In the old days, according to popular allegory, you worked for a company most of your life. At retirement, that firm rewarded you with a pension, a guaranteed income for your golden years. These days, retirement planning is a bit more complicated. Fewer employers offer defined-benefit pension plans. Instead they require employees to parse byzantine literature and make life-altering choices for themselves. And more options are available than ever before.

“Follow the money,” the editor bellowed at the cub reporter. That’s something you hear a lot in newsrooms. And top reporters follow that advice.