They feared that the continuing investigation of the $7 trillion mutual fund industry would find improper trading by other pension managers.
They revived the spectre of the distant past when increases in the minimum wage did fuel rampant inflation.There was some enlightened thinking, such as a proposal to disentangle the minimum wage from a plethora of fees and benefits which are tied to it, from fines for improper waste disposal to pensions and scholarships.
Treasury Secretary John W. Snow has also warned that an improper response to today's pension problems could send the federal agency that insures pensions into a tailspin comparable to the collapse of the Savings and Loan system.
Several state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against the bank, contending that it cheated pension funds by selecting improper prices when processing currency trades.
Unilever accused Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, Merrill's mutual and pension fund arm, of improper risk controls, inadequate diversification and failure to provide enough protection in the event markets decline.
The chairman of Fuxi Investments Holding has been under investigation in connection with a scandal involving allegedly improper loans from a city government pension fund.
The investigation centered on whether a state official had helped Quadrangle secure a $150 million allocation from the New York pension fund in exchange for improper payments.
The firm, Praetorian Securities, was a placement agent, but a lawyer for Daniel Hevesi, a former State Senator, has denied that he did any business with the state pension fund, or did anything improper.
Mr. Rattner's dispute with Mr. Cuomo began several years ago, when the attorney general's office began examining how investment firms won business from the pension fund and whether they had improper dealings with officials.
For Mr. Rattner, the settlement allows him to escape the harsh spotlight he has felt since the spring of 2009, when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against a New York pension official that detailed accusations of improper dealings.
