A round-up of public finance articles from the US & Canada you might have missed this week (September 23-27).

Chicago tops Moody's list of US pension problems

The city of Chicago and a couple of nearby municipalities top the list of U.S. public pension burdens as measured by Moody's Investors Service's revised rating methodology. (Reuters)

House Republicans explore strategy to avoid federal government shutdown

With federal agencies set to close their doors in five days, House Republicans began exploring a potential detour on the path to a shutdown: shifting the fight over President Obama’s healthcare law to a separate bill that would raise the nation's debt limit. (The Washington Post)

Canada: federal government puts public service compensation under microscope

Canada’s Treasury Board is undertaking a series of studies comparing the compensation of federal public servants with that received by employees in similar positions in the private and other public sectors worldwide. (Ottawa Citizen)

JP Morgan in talks to settle government probes for $11bn: sources

JP Morgan Chase & Co is in talks with US government officials to settle federal and state mortgage probes for $11bn, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

More public sector staff calling in sick, Statistics Canada finds

More public sector employees called in sick during 2012 compared to their private sector counterparts, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada. (Labour Reporter)

Canadian government plan would claw back public employee pay

Op-ed: In a bid to help reduce the deficit, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper intends to take back 4% of public service employees salary beginning January 1. (Digital Journal)