Market Commentaries

The Problem with Waiting for the “Fed” to Raise Rates

March 2014

By Jeffrey D. Irish Following Janet Yellen’s recent testimony, many investors may just want to wait for Federal Reserve policy makers to raise interest rates before committing money to the bond market. After all, the fed funds rate has been held in the …


2013 Municipal Bond Wēijī: Does Crisis Equal 2014 Opportunity?

January 2014

The municipal bond market’s behavior in 2013 could be summed up by the old saying that the Chinese word for “crisis” – wēijī – is actually composed of two characters representing “danger” and “opportunity.” John F. Kennedy is credited for popularizing …


Will Detroit turn BOND upside down?

December 2013

By Ronald P. Bernardi   Will the Detroit Chapter 9 bankruptcy turn the municipal bond world upside down? A random vacation photo captured this concern fairly well. With such a big question looming over the market, let’s review the ways in which th …


Perspective and Strategy Discussion

December 2013

Historical U.S. Treasury Bond Yield Curves Red Line = November 2003 (New, 30-yr. Treasuries were not being issued at this time) Orange Line = November 2008 Blue Line =  November 2013 (current) Green Line = November 2012  Over the years, we’ve talked ab …


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 2013

Last 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 2013

The 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 2013

As 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 2013

Men, 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 2013

The 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 2013

Below 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 …


Colona, Illinois

July 2013

$2.735 Million General Obligation Waterworks & Sewerage Alternate Revenue Source Bonds, Series 2013 The Bonds are being issued to finance capital improvements to the City’s waterworks and sewerage systems and to pay costs associated with the issuan …


June 2013 Market Commentary

July 2013

June 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 2013

 A 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 2013

STOCKTON’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 …