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| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
|---|
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S&P National Bond Index
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3.00% |
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S&P California Bond Index
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2.96% |
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S&P New York Bond Index
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3.13% |
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S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
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0.70% |
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| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
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| More |
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| Income Equities: |
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| Preferred Stocks |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index
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848.03 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (CAD)
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636.26 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR)
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1,701.05 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR) (CAD)
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1,276.26 |
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| REITs |
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S&P REIT Index
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174.07 |
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S&P REIT Index (TR)
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425.30 |
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| MLPs |
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S&P MLP Index
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2,469.58 |
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S&P MLP Index (TR)
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5,428.50 |
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See Data
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Institutional Collapse: A Couple Worth Reading |
THE HUFFINGTON POST - Jan. 19, 2010
According to Crain's Chicago Business, the State of Illinois is heading for a de facto bankruptcy. "While Illinois doesn't have the option of shutting its doors or shedding debts in a bankruptcy reorganization, it seems powerless to avert the practical equivalent. Despite a budget shortfall estimated to be as high as $5.7 billion, state officials haven't shown the political will to either raise taxes or cut spending sufficiently to close the gap." That is, they don't want to tell the voters that as a result of their past decisions Illinois residents face a future of high taxes and degraded services, to pay for unfunded pension obligations and debts run up by past residents and older generations. Of course, the overall tax burden in Illinois is much lower than in New York.
On the private sector side, one of the dwindling number of honest men in business asserts in the Wall Street Journal that corporate executives are collectively fleecing investor and wrecking the economy and institutional investors, part of the same class of people, are thus unwilling to meet their fiduciary obligations by stopping them. "The faith of investors has been betrayed" according to John C. Bogle, founder of Vanguard.
What is the attitude of non-greedy members of Generation Greed, like Mr. Bogle? They are really ticked off, but not yet prepared to accept that they will collectively bequeath a diminished country to those coming after. Bogle still wants to restore faith.
"Early in 2002, I called for the creation of a Federation of Long-Term Investors, in which institutional investors--including the giant index fund managers who alone hold some 15% of U.S. stocks--would join together to force these long-overdue changes and exert their ownership power over our publicly-held companies. Then, I found few allies. Today, perhaps, this is an idea whose time has come."
I suspect now that the vested interests will keep grabbing until there is an institutional collapse, and no one will stop them. Not in corporate America, and not in the New York State legislature and its special interest backers.
I wouldn't be buying any municipal bonds.
I wouldn't be buying any stocks at multiples of these "earnings" and these dividend yields, and with the economy dependent on the federal government going deeper into debt so U.S. workers can spend more than business pays them and thus inflate profits.
And no young person should buy a house for more than peanuts from a member of Generation Greed, allowing them to flee to Florida. Not until the chips have fallen and everyone can see what taxes, public services and future wages will be like, so that can be factored into the price.
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| Stuff to look at |
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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