Market Commentaries
A Century of Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
December 2013“There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend: Those with a rope around the neck, and the people who have the job of doing the cutting.” – Tuco “the Ugly” (Eli Wallach), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, 1966 As the repeal of federal income tax- …
September Turbulence & Outperformance
October 2013Last month was a turbulent experience for the Treasury markets, though municipals have been able to sustain a relative rally. The catalyst to each ebb and flow of last month’s bond market has left our purview as the debt ceiling crisis and brinksmanshi …
August 2013 Commentary on MarketWatch
September 2013The Bernardi Securities August 2013 market commentary written by Scott Rausch, Outperforming the Madness of Municipal Bond Fund Herds, was mentioned in an August 30, 2013 blog post on MarketWatch as a market professional perspective on mitigating the c …
Continuing Disclosure Filings and MSRB Filing Tools
September 2013As many of you know, certain contractual agreements entered into under SEC Rule 15c2-12 (the “Rule”) require ongoing disclosures by municipal securities issuers. These disclosures may include financial information, operational information and event not …
Outperforming the Madness of Municipal Bond Fund Herds
August 2013Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one [i]— Charles MackayIt can be said that relative portfolio outperformance – and the overall security of pr …
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 …