BROWSE BY TOPIC
- Bad Brokers
- Compliance Concepts
- Investor Protection
- Investments - Unsuitable
- Investments - Strategies
- Investments - Private
- Features/Scandals
- Companies
- Technology/Internet
- Rules & Regulations
- Crimes
- Investments
- Bad Advisors
- Boiler Rooms
- Hirings/Transitions
- Terminations/Cost Cutting
- Regulators
- Wall Street News
- General News
- Donald Trump & Co.
- Lawsuits/Arbitrations
- Regulatory Sanctions
- Big Banks
- People
TRENDING TAGS
Stories of Interest
- Sarah ten Siethoff is New Associate Director of SEC Investment Management Rulemaking Office
- Catherine Keating Appointed CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management
- Credit Suisse to Pay $47Mn to Resolve DOJ Asia Probe
- SEC Chair Clayton Goes 'Hat in Hand' Before Congress on 2019 Budget Request
- SEC's Opening Remarks to the Elder Justice Coordinating Council
- Massachusetts Jury Convicts CA Attorney of Securities Fraud
- Deutsche Bank Says 3 Senior Investment Bankers to Leave Firm
- World’s Biggest Hedge Fund Reportedly ‘Bearish On Financial Assets’
- SEC Fines Constant Contact, Popular Email Marketer, for Overstating Subscriber Numbers
- SocGen Agrees to Pay $1.3 Billion to End Libya, Libor Probes
- Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitfinex Briefly Halts Trading After Cyber Attack
- SEC Names Valerie Szczepanik Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation
- SEC Modernizes Delivery of Fund Reports, Seeks Public Feedback on Improving Fund Disclosure
- NYSE Says SEC Plan to Limit Exchange Rebates Would Hurt Investors
- Deutsche Bank faces another challenge with Fed stress test
- Former JPMorgan Broker Files racial discrimination suit against company
- $3.3Mn Winning Bid for Lunch with Warren Buffett
- Julie Erhardt is SEC's New Acting Chief Risk Officer
- Chyhe Becker is SEC's New Acting Chief Economist, Acting Director of Economic and Risk Analysis Division
- Getting a Handle on Virtual Currencies - FINRA
ABOUT FINANCIALISH
We seek to provide information, insights and direction that may enable the Financial Community to effectively and efficiently operate in a regulatory risk-free environment by curating content from all over the web.
Stay Informed with the latest fanancialish news.
SUBSCRIBE FOR
NEWSLETTERS & ALERTS
FOLLOW US
Another Year of Fear for Municipal Bonds
February 13, 2012
Those who chose to disregard Meredith Whitney's 'gloom and doom' forecasts for the municipal-bond market - following her December 2010 appearance on "60 Minutes" - and invested in that market, did well. The S&P Municipal Bond index returned 13.5%.
While the muni bond markets is not expected to collapse in 2012, the market is not likely to be as accommodating as it was in 2011. That's because a tight supply of new munis and the existence of zero interest rates - which force investors to search for yield - have pushed money back into muni funds, where yields also have fallen.
Triple-A-rated 10-year bonds now are yielding about 1.8% - or about 3% pre-tax. That's a full percentage point above Treasurys. But the greater yield comes at a cost, because munis are less liquid and often suffer from poor disclosure.
A wave of outright defaults by municipalities remains unlikely, particularly among G.O. (general-obligation) bonds, which make up about 40% of the market. But the U.S. recovery is sluggish and, up until now, localities have opted to bear the brunt of strains in local finances - witness falling public-sector payrolls. However, there's a political limit to just how much sacrifice municipalities can endure. Sooner or later, issues like unfunded public-sector pension funds will necessarily result in at least occasional defaults. Headlines like these will not be welcomed, especially since investors are receiving relatively low fixed-income yields. However, it's good to know such events are not expected to dominate the news.
For more details, go to [WSJ, 2/8/12].
Related Stories: Archive
-
Legal Funding Firm Accused of Scamming 9/11 Heroes, NFL Retirees
February 8, 2017 -
Elizabeth Warren, Wall Street Pariah, Now Has Lost Her Left-Wing Following
January 19, 2017 -
What We Know and Don’t Know About the Trump-Russia Dossier
January 11, 2017