Investors viewed Greece’s rescue deal with caution Tuesday, as stocks finished the day around flat, and Treasurys recouped some of their losses. Meanwhile, companies continued to borrow with ease. Five issuers brought about $ 9.1 billion of investment-grade bonds to the market, and most deals were oversubscribed. Elsewhere, municipal bonds followed Treasurys lower in price, [...]
Municipal Bonds News
GAO Report That Retail Pays More Isn’t New News – Bond Buyer
February 21st, 2012
A government report that describes how institutional investors pay less than individual investors when buying or selling municipal bonds isn’t news to market participants. The Government Accountability Office report on muni bond transactions released in January said that retail investors paid an average 2.5% markup when buying $ 5,000 worth of municipal securities in the [...]
A Fog Warning, Again, for Municipal Bonds – New York Times
February 19th, 2012
A Fog Warning, Again, for Municipal BondsNew York TimesFEW areas of finance are as opaque as the municipal bond market. Which is astounding, when you consider how crucial this $ 4 trillion market is to the nation's economic life. Sure, munis seem boring. But without them, state and local finances would …and more »
CREDIT MARKETS: Treasurys Fall As Investors Look To Greek Deal – Wall Street Journal
February 18th, 2012
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Treasurys fell Friday as investors were encouraged that a bailout deal for Greece is on the horizon, while corporate bonds were largely flat ahead of the three-day holiday weekend. The CDX North America Investment-Grade Index, a measure of health in the U.S. corporate-bond market, was on track to improve 0.4%, according to [...]
Diversify. Don’t Just Invest in Municipal Bonds – Fox Business
February 17th, 2012
Dear Dr. Don,Should I put all of my investments in tax-exempt, independent school district bonds? I am 83 years old, and I draw retirement and Social Security.– Al Aggregated Dear Al,As a former school district treasurer, I like the sentiment. However, I can’t recommend you transfer your entire investment portfolio to tax-exempt debt issues, regardless [...]
Longest Hospital-Bond Rally Since 2006 Imperiled: Muni Credit – San Francisco Chronicle
February 15th, 2012
Feb. 14 — The longest rally for municipal hospital bonds since 2006 may be doomed as President Barack Obama and U.S. states propose more than $ 300 billion of health- care spending reductions to close deficits. Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget plan yesterday called for $ 319 billion of cuts over a decade to Medicare and [...]
Obama seeks to cut municipal bond tax breaks – Reuters
February 14th, 2012
Boxes containing copies of the 2013 Federal Budget are displayed at the Government Printing Office in Washington February 13, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON | Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:31pm EST WASHINGTON – – President Barack Obama on Monday proposed limiting tax breaks given to high-income earners on the interest paid by [...]
Northeast Volume Fell in 2011, But Still Beat the Larger Market – Bond Buyer
February 13th, 2012
Issuers in the Northeast and Puerto Rico sold $ 96.6 billion of municipal bonds in 2011, down 18.1% from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters data. Click to see related tables The Northeast, however, outperformed the broader market. Nationwide, the drop was 32%, to $ 294.7 billion from $ 433.2 billion. “Since ’08, it’s [...]
Bad economy means more savings for Monroe County – Pocono Record
February 11th, 2012
February 11, 2012 Bad economic news across the globe means even more cost savings for Monroe County, bond officials told Monroe County commissioners Friday. So many investors worried about the ripples of the Greek debt crisis have moved funds to U.S. municipal bonds, that bond interest rates have plunged within the past three weeks, said [...]
Muni Bond ETFs Continue March Higher – ETF Trends
February 10th, 2012
February 9th at 4:14pm by Tom Lydon Municipal bond exchange traded funds are seeing money move in and low defaults have the sector enjoying its best start to a year since 1990 in terms of performance. “Investors are rushing back to municipals as evidenced by strong inflows of $ 6 billion in January. A combination of factors are [...]
Davenport bond sale nets favorable interest rate – Quad City Times
February 9th, 2012
Kurt Allemeier The Quad-City Times | Posted: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 10:07 pm | Davenport’s general obligation bond interest rate followed its bond rating – down. The city council learned that was a good thing as the city received a 2.43 percent interest rate on $ 31.25 million general obligation bonds sold Wednesday to Guggenheim [...]
Another Year of Fear for Municipal Bonds – Wall Street Journal
February 8th, 2012
BY LIAM DENNING Facing down analyst Meredith Whitney has paid off for municipal-bond investors—so far. Since her famously pessimistic December 2010 appearance on “60 Minutes,” the S&P Municipal Bond index has returned 13.4%, beating Treasurys and high-yield corporate bonds. But while 2012 isn’t likely to see the end of the world, muni investors won’t find [...]