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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
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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
|
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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Muniland is the most transparent bond market |
REUTERS - July 1, 2011
Agnes Crane, a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, wrote an interesting column today about ending the municipal-bond tax exemption. This tax exemption, granted at the federal level, makes the interest earned on municipal bonds free from taxation on the local, state and federal level if it’s owned by an investor residing at the place of issuance.
The “triple tax” exemption is baked into the structure of the municipal market. There are several proposals floating about how to modify the muni tax exemption. Agnes Crane, in her column, calls it an “accident of history.” Accident or not, there are 50,000 muni issuers who will actively resist any legislation to change the tax code. It’s hard to imagine any lobbying group with more clout since state and local officials are deeply embedded in the political web of every federal legislator’s district. But politics being what it is, every legislative term brings new possibilities.
But what I really wanted to write about was Agnes’ idea that repealing the muni tax exemption would make the muni bond market more transparent and efficient. The municipal bond market is already miles ahead of other bond markets in transparency. Since the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board made their EMMA system operational, transparency in muniland is an order of magnitude better than other any bond market, including the U.S. Treasury market, which is liquid but not transparent. To see individual trades in the Treasury market you need an expensive Bloomberg or Reuters terminal. But for the muni market all you need is an internet connection to reach EMMA. At EMMA you can easily get all the documents for an issuer and their individual bonds, credit-rating downgrades, annual issuer reports and more.
Here is how the MSRB describes EMMA; for more.
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| Stuff to look at |
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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