Public Conversations

Charlotte is ranked third in the nation for paying its bills on time. Not just any bills – pension bills. That's according to a new report by The Pew Charitable Trusts. They found that the country's largest cities have an unpaid tab of more than $200 billion when it comes to retirement benefits promised to employees. And it turns out Charlotte has been preparing for retirement relatively well when it comes to pension plans.  

One indicator of how well you've settled into a place is gaining a sense of the city's "celebrity" culture. Admittedly, I'm nowhere close. So I need your help ... 

I'm working on a list of local celebrities that newcomers to Charlotte should be familiar with (in case you run into them on the street!). Here's what I have so far:  

President George Washington called Charlotte a "trifling place." That's how our founding father described the city during a visit in 1791. But it's certainly changed since then. Welcome to "A Trifling Place," a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

2012 in Charlotte has been anything but quiet. We've had our share of controversy, scandals, political turmoil, budget woes, and time on the national - and international - stage. Now that the year is coming to an end, we'll gather WFAE news reporters to go through some of the major stories to hit the Queen City this year. Join us for a 2012 News Roundup, when Charlotte Talks.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged an investment banker at Wells Fargo with leading an $11 million insider trading ring while he worked in Charlotte.

John Femenia had access to a lot of confidential information through his job at Wells Fargo. He’s an investment banker (or at least was), and he got the scoop on several mergers because his bank helped with the financing.

That information is as good as money. Mergers often drive a company’s stock price up, so if you buy it before that happens – you're setting up for a nice profit.

In the late 1990s, there were what were called "Crystal Meetings". Top executives from ten Asian-based tech companies met in hotels and bars in Taiwan to set the price of LCD screens.  In other words, price-fixing.