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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
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0.70% |
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| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
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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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Time to Move to Cash? |
Seeking Alpha - July 7, 2011 - By Eric Parnell
Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar
Make it snappy
You are the one that can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don’t be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn’t have known you all of these years
-- Traffic, “Dear Mr. Fantasy”
The stock market remains intoxicated by the fantasy strummed by global policy makers. The trouble with fantasy, however, is that it eventually must give way to reality. And the longer the fantasy goes on, the more severe the hangover of reality may ultimately become for the global economy and investment markets. And given the mounting uncertainties as we move through the summer months, maintaining a diversified portfolio to protect against reality setting in is more important than ever now.
Do something, anything to take us out of any gloom make us all happy. Global policy makers have at their disposal the potions to placate investment markets – heavy government spending, easy money policies and regulatory oversight. Fearing a repeat of the Lehman episode that nearly collapsed the global financial system in September 2008, they’ve been offering these elixirs up generously - almost fearfully at times – ever since. Suspend mark-to-market accounting for technically insolvent banks, rescue industries in chronic decline, torture credit rating rules to prevent insolvent countries from technically declaring bankruptcy, engage in multiple rounds of quantitative easing, pump trillions of dollars in cash into the financial system and investment markets, etc. Do whatever it takes, and make it snappy.
This heavy stimulus helps keep equity markets laughing their way to new highs, regardless of any negative realities. Such continuous market joy, however, is not necessarily healthy for the economic or market system. When viewed through the scope of reality, should capitalistic investors truly be cheered by repeated government intervention in markets to put off an inevitable restructuring? The problem has not gone away, it has simply been numbed until August. And where will the next round of sedation be required? Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium? Instead, the Greece rescue was a cause for fantastic market euphoria because we once again pulled back from the brink – for today.
But what about next time? And when? It’s only a week later and the Greece bailout is already facing new obstacles just as Portugal and Italy have come under renewed scrutiny. And what of the increasingly sluggish economic recovery in the U.S.? And the ongoing debt ceiling debate? And the effects of the end of QE2? The list of realities go on and on. And in these realities, all are reason to take pause, reassess risk exposures and act prudently. But the pleasure of stimulus and bailout fueled fantasy is that all of these risks can be ignored – the market will go higher simply because it will – at least for now. But for how much longer?
For the complete article.
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| Stuff to look at |
Yield and Income Newsletter: A must have for income investors. subscribe NOW
S&P Commentary and Newsletters: S&P
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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