Author: Jim Walker

AMBAC Bites The Dust…?

About 10 years ago my muni bond broker said the “day insurers of muni bonds cant pay off a defaulted bond you will have bigger problems on your hands” ,…

Special Assessment Bonds Trigger 2009 Muni Defaults

Muni bond defaults moved past $4 billion from January thru September 2009  driven partly by the bursting of the real estate bubble which in turn  triggered  defaults in “Special Assessment”…

Legacy Credit Ratings Don’t Jive With Market Reality

In mid August, the bond section of the Charles Schwab brokerage Web site said a representative ten-year, single-A muni yielded 5.9%, and a ten-year, triple-A yielded 4.1%. But when you…

Don’t sweat ratings downgrades on GOs?

In terms of safety, governors and state treasurers argue, GO state debt should be equivalent to Treasury bonds, or at least triple-A-rated corporate bonds. Although states can’t print their own…

Critics Complain of Bond Raters’ Conflicts at US Congress Hearings

Reading thru  Jeffrey R. Kosnett column from Kiplinger  “Beyond bond ratings”, (Oct 7, 2009 )

Moodys Should Disclose When A Ratings Or Rerating Was Given

Would you want to own muni bond  that hasn’t been given a sniff test for 20 years?  Well this is a common concern for muni investors according to  the N.Y. Times  “When…