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| BondsOnline.com: instant access to and extensive coverage of over 3.5 million stocks, bonds, indexes and other securities covering major and emerging markets and exchanges across the globe. |
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| Bonds Online |
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| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
|---|
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S&P National Bond Index
|
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
|
3.13% |
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S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
|
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
|
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)
|
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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Whitney Defends Municipal Bond Default Prediction, As Bonds Show Signs Of Recovery |
HUFFPOST BUSINESS - May 6, 2011 - by William Alden
Even as the municipal bond market shows signs of recovery, analyst Meredith Whitney stood by her controversial prediction of widespread defaults.
Speaking at the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles, Whitney reiterated her belief that local governments will default on a combined "hundreds of billions of dollars' worth" of debt," Bloomberg News reports. The forecast comes as state and local bonds are recovering to levels not seen since last fall, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In late September, Whitney released a report to clients that has since hung like a specter over the municipal bond market. Her argument now is the same as it was then: States are dealing with budget woes, prompting them to cut off aid to municipalities. So, Whitney said, governments will prioritize local taxpayers over investors and choose to default on their debt.
In the months since she first made this prediction, she has taken heavy criticism from analysts and pundits, and she was the subject of a Bloomberg News piece that noted the report was thin on specifics. But in a seeming show of Whitney's influence, investors have fled municipal bonds.
As the nation recovers from the sharpest downturn since the Great Depression, cities across the nation are struggling with often crippling deficits. Tax receipts have fallen as property values have tanked and payrolls have shrunk, prompting many local governments to slash basic services at a time when residents badly need them.
Local governments have laid off teachers and crossing guards. Others have delayed repairs to broken streets and crumbling buildings. Some of the nation's statistically most dangerous cities have laid off significant portions of their police forces.
As governments have imposed these cuts, it's been the residents and the public workers who have felt the most pain -- not the investors who hold the government's debt. When a city misses a payment to its secured creditors, the cost of borrowing goes up, making it more expensive for the government to issue bonds in the future.
For the complete article.
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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