The threat of rising interest rates is not welcome news for municipal bond investors. As the economy comes out of recession, the threat of inflation may result in interest rate…
There is good news and bad news from the Chicago Federal Reserve which said that 2011 will be a tough year in local government finance. Minimal growth or outright declines…
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services downgraded refunded municipal bonds that were rated AAA in a follow-up to its downgrade notice of the U.S. triple-A outlook to negative from stable.
As the U.S. has just discovered, a wounded credit-rating agency is a dangerous beast.
On Dec 2010, the Securities Exchange Commission put into effect Rule 15c2-12 which prohibits dealers from underwriting most muni bond deals unless the issuers have contractually agreed to disclose annual…
“In December, projections by Meredith Whitney, the banking analyst, about possible municipal defaults began to rattle the $2.86 trillion municipal-debt market. Investors withdrew $1.2 billion from U.S. municipal-bond mutual funds,…
“The rule on staying alive as a forecaster is to give ’em a number or give ’em a date, but never give ’em both at once.”
Peter Demirali is a portfolio manager and heads Cumberland’s taxable fixed income area and is a long time veteran of taxable fixed income markets. He is a member of Cumberland…
Smart Money magazine and the NY Times reported on the NYC American Folk Arts museum that went bankrupt by defaulting on its muni bonds in Mid August 2010.