Rougeou to serve as national vice president: Cynthia Rougeou, executive director of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System, has been named second vice president of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators’ Executive Board. Rougeou had served as a regional vice president for NASRA. NASRA is a nonprofit association whose members are the directors of public retirement systems.
Not following S&P’s lead: Fitch Ratings says it will keep its rating on U.S. debt at the highest grade, AAA. It also says its outlook on the U.S. ratings is stable. Fellow ratings agency Standard & Poor’s set off a tempest in the stock market last week after it downgraded part of the U.S. debt rating from the highest grade to the second-highest grade. In explaining its decision, Fitch cited the United States’ “flexible, diversified and wealthy economy,” as well as the nation’s flexibility in monetary and exchange rates, which allows it to adjust to marketplace shocks. The other main ratings agency, Moody’s, still rates the U.S. debt at its highest grade but says its outlook is negative.
