Market Commentaries
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 …
Treasuries Continue to Rally, Municipal Bonds Less Affected
May 2012Renewed questions as to the health of the European Economic Union coupled with news of slowing growth in China, India and here at home sparked a strong rally in the Treasury market this past month. Treasuries rally more pronounced While this …
“Intercalary” February: An Extra Day of Bond News
February 2012Leap Year means 29 days in February 2012, so there is an extra day of bond news this month.New issue supply remained modest, demand strongThe new issue supply of municipal bonds remained fairly modest in February and investor demand remained strong dur …
Back To Municipal Bond Basics
January 2012“You could see 50 sizable defaults, 50 to 100 sizable defaults, more. This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of defaults.” – “60 Minutes”, Meredith Whitney commentary, December 2010 “The notion that many bond investors have th …
Municipal Market Minefield Maneuvering in Perspective
January 2012Last month I was invited to participate in an hour-long discussion hosted and aired live by InvestmentNews, Muni Markets: Maneuvering Through the Minefield. The content was wide-ranging and lively. Over the past few years, we have written about a numbe …
Bond Rally Continues
January 2012The bond market’s powerful December rally continued unabated into the first month of the year. Bond yields declined to near historic lows in both the U.S. Treasury and municipal bond sectors. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.80% on January 31st ver …
Widest Municipal Yield Spread in Two Years, Bankruptcy Update
November 2011Municipal bond prices held up surprisingly well during the month, despite an increased supply of new municipal bond issues following months of low issuance.Municipal yield spread against Treasuries widest in two yearsThe 10 year, “A” rated MMD Index bo …
Municipal Market Progresses Unevenly
October 2011The municipal bond market showed more signs of progress in October, albeit unevenly – a persistent market narrative that creates opportunities for the disciplined and informed.State revenues growing despite property tax declinesThe macro economic pictu …
Yield Search Favors Municipal Market
September 2011After August outflows, the municipal bond market turned bullish once again in September with four weeks in a row of bond fund inflows – and the last week more than doubling the inflows of the previous week. The month also saw a couple of true superlati …
The Effect of a U.S. Rating Downgrade
September 2011After August outflows, the municipal bond market turned bullish once again in September with four weeks in a row of bond fund inflows – and the last week more than doubling the inflows of the previous week. The month also saw a couple of true superlati …
U.S. Downgrade Domino Threat
August 2011The prevailing August municipal bond market story was the threat posed by the U.S. rating downgrade. The improving state tax situation and the search for better yields also led municipal bond market news in the past month.Wholesale municipal rating dow …
Mid-Year Municipal Credit Update
July 2011In this commentary, we will summarize where municipal credit quality has been, where we believe it is today, and what our clients should expect over the near term investment horizon. The municipal market began the year with a tumultuous first quarter, …
The End Is Near
May 2011What Will it Mean to Municipal Bonds in 2011 and Beyond? As the economy expands, it is becoming clearer that we are nearing the end of the “easy money” policy that the Federal Reserve has pursued over the past few years. So what can we expect once the …
Calmer, Bullish Municipal Market: Opportunities Amongst Problems
May 2011Municipal bond prices continued their upward move during May resulting in lower yields across the maturity spectrum at month end. A calmer tone to our marketplace has set in over the past two months as much of the selling hysteria earlier in the year h …