Market Commentaries
2013 Mid-Year Municipal Market Update
August 2013The bond market experienced sharp, rapid adjustment in the second quarter — arguably the greatest since the fall of 2008. The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 1.63% in early May and finished June yielding 2.49%. As of June 28, year-to-date it had lost 2.5 …
City of Detroit Chapter 9 Filing
July 2013Below are several credit research notes related to the City of Detroit. Our goal with this commentary is to frame the relevant general obligation bond issue and clearly articulate our credit perspective. Detroit HAS NOT been on our firm’s li …
June 2013 Market Commentary
July 2013June was a very volatile month for the markets, triggered by concerns that the Federal Reserve Bank will begin tapering its easy-money programs of quantitative easing and near-zero-percent overnight lending rates. Bonds, equities, currencies and commod …
A Mixed Message From The Fed
May 2013A MIXED MESSAGE FROM THE FEDFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared before the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday, May 22 and offered this testimony:“For some months, the FOMC has been buying longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of …
Stockton’s April Fools’ Ruling
April 2013STOCKTON’S APRIL FOOLS’ RULING “….and it is apparent to me that the City will not be able to perform its obligations to its citizens relating to such fundamental matters as public safety, as well as other basic governmental services, without the a …
STATE OF ILLINOIS SETTLES
April 2013“Washington, D.C., March 11, 2013-The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the State of Illinois with securities fraud for misleading municipal bond investors about the state’s approach to funding its pension obligations.”SEC memo headline, …
REPEALING TAX-EXEMPTION – Impact on Small and Medium sized Communities
February 2013“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” Text of the Sixteenth Amendment, ratified February 3, 19 …
MMXIII: Illinois & the Year of Bond Vigilantes
February 2013The first month of 2013 began quietly for the municipal bond market. It ended, here in Illinois, with a thud.This month brings us the thirteenth year of the third millennium as measured by the Gregorian calendar. The Chinese calendar recognizes 2013 as …
Repealing Tax Exemption: A Clear and Present Danger
January 2013This past October, at the Illinois Municipal League’s annual conference held in Chicago, I participated in a panel discussion,“Repealing Tax Exemption- A Clear and Present Danger”. The other panelists included Matt Posner of Municipal Market Advisors a …
DECEMBER’S MARKET CORRECTION
January 2013Finally, bond yields moved higher in December reversing the predominant 2012 trend line and reminding many that losses are possible even in Mr. Bernanke’s contrived bond market utopia. Centuries ago the bard from Avon opined (as did our own January 200 …
Municipal Bond Market Regulatory Update
November 2012As Chief Compliance Officer of Bernardi Securities, Inc., I make a point of attending as many meetings and seminars as I can to keep our firm apprised of new rules, regulations and legislation that affect our organization and clients. Along with servin …
Yields Remain Low, Volatility Increases
September 2012September began with “AAA” rated, 10-year non-taxable municipal bonds yielding 1.70%. 10-year bond yields spiked mid-month to 1.93% and ended the month and 3rd quarter yielding 1.70%. The supply of new issues slowed this past month relative to Septembe …
2012 Mid-Year Municipal Market & Credit Update
August 2012It’s important to frame the developments in the broader financial markets over the last six to twelve months before discussing the municipal market’s continued ability to absorb issuer-specific credit events. Roughly a year ago, the United States’ trip …
Some perspective on the recent California bankruptcies
July 2012There have been three municipalities that have either filed or have voted to approve filing bankruptcy in California in the past year: Stockton, Mammoth Lakes and most recently, San Bernardino. Stockton and San Bernardino went bankrupt due to the “usua …
Municipal Bondholders 1, Jefferson County Newspeak 0
June 2012Score one for bondholders. A federal judge ruled in June that Jefferson County, Alabama could not reduce debt payments while in bankruptcy in order to spend more of the system’s net operating revenues on its aging sewage system. County’s Orwe …