{"id":49331,"date":"2025-08-14T20:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/?p=49331"},"modified":"2025-08-14T20:00:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T00:00:23","slug":"august-14-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/?p=49331","title":{"rendered":"August 14, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

I continue to be fascinated by the impending drying up of US Social Security and there was a decent review on CNN today<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we celebrate that 90th anniversary of one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever signed into law, the Social Security Act of 1935. And we\u2019re going to make it stronger, bigger and better. \u2026 During the campaign, I made a (pledge) to our seniors that I would always protect Social Security, and under this administration, we\u2019re keeping that promise and strengthening Social Security for generations to come,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

But in citing what he said were his administration\u2019s successes, Trump made some false and exaggerated or unverifiable claims. Among them:
…<\/b>
Claim: Social Security\u2019s finances are better<\/b><\/p>\n

In praising the accomplishments of Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, who was standing next to the president for the proclamation signing, Trump said that while the media has reported that the program was going to \u201cgo bust\u201d in less than a decade, \u201cNot anymore it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in fact, the program still faces the prospect of not being able to pay 100% of promised benefits by 2034 in the retirement and disability programs if lawmakers don\u2019t act to address the pending shortfall, according to the latest annual report from Social Security\u2019s trustees. By that point, unless changes to the system are made, payroll tax revenue and other income sources will only be able to cover 81%<\/a> of scheduled benefits.<\/p>\n

And with the estimated reduction in tax revenue from Trump\u2019s One Big Beautful Bill Act, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the insolvency date will now be a year or two earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are several longstanding reasons for the funding shortfall, including demographics and other spending and tax legislation passed under Republican and Democratic administrations. But, to close that gap, lawmakers (as they\u2019ve known for years) will need to come up with a package of fixes that may include raising more in Social Security taxes, raising the retirement age, changing the formula to reduce the amount of initial benefits a person receives at retirement, and changing how benefits are annually adjusted for cost of living, according to CRFB<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I fail to understand why the Democrats aren’t banging the drum on this at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

And the PPI for July came out<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The latest Producer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices paid to producers, jumped 0.9% from June, lifting the annual rate to 3.3%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. PPI serves as a potential bellwether for the prices consumers may see in the months ahead.
…<\/b>
Excluding food and energy, core PPI also shot higher by 0.9%, sending the annual rate to 3.7%, the highest level since March.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices<\/strong>
Values are provisional and are finalized monthly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Index<\/td>\nMean
Current
Yield
(at bid)<\/td>\n		Median
YTW<\/td>\n		Median
Average
Trading
Value<\/td>\n		Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)<\/td>\n		Issues<\/td>\nDay’s Perf.<\/td>\nIndex Value<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ratchet<\/td>\n6.88 %<\/td>\n7.34 %<\/td>\n37,298<\/td>\n13.08<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n-0.2484 %<\/td>\n2,399.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedFloater<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n-0.0509 %<\/td>\n4,591.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Floater<\/td>\n6.62 %<\/td>\n6.91 %<\/td>\n36,820<\/td>\n12.61<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n-0.0509 %<\/td>\n2,646.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OpRet<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n-0.3696 %<\/td>\n3,674.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SplitShare<\/td>\n4.76 %<\/td>\n4.74 %<\/td>\n51,555<\/td>\n2.37<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n-0.3696 %<\/td>\n4,387.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interest-Bearing<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n-0.3696 %<\/td>\n3,423.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Premium<\/td>\n5.82 %<\/td>\n4.31 %<\/td>\n77,807<\/td>\n0.08<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n0.0995 %<\/td>\n3,064.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Discount<\/td>\n5.63 %<\/td>\n5.74 %<\/td>\n44,249<\/td>\n14.26<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n-0.4848 %<\/td>\n3,325.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedReset Disc<\/td>\n5.63 %<\/td>\n6.22 %<\/td>\n116,540<\/td>\n13.26<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n-0.1787 %<\/td>\n3,017.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Insurance Straight<\/td>\n5.51 %<\/td>\n5.59 %<\/td>\n56,228<\/td>\n14.40<\/td>\n18<\/td>\n0.5018 %<\/td>\n3,280.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FloatingReset<\/td>\n5.28 %<\/td>\n5.35 %<\/td>\n36,261<\/td>\n14.85<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n-0.4825 %<\/td>\n3,732.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedReset Prem<\/td>\n5.89 %<\/td>\n5.07 %<\/td>\n116,047<\/td>\n2.49<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n-0.0228 %<\/td>\n2,627.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedReset Bank Non<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n-0.1787 %<\/td>\n3,084.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedReset Ins Non<\/td>\n5.22 %<\/td>\n5.54 %<\/td>\n68,921<\/td>\n14.23<\/td>\n15<\/td>\n1.1338 %<\/td>\n3,072.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Performance Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nChange<\/td>\nNotes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CU.PR.D<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-9.58 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.00
\nBid-YTW : 6.15 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BN.PF.E<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n-7.60 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.05
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.05
\nBid-YTW : 6.83 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CU.PR.J<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-6.32 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.00
\nBid-YTW : 5.96 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BN.PR.R<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n-5.03 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 19.25
\nEvaluated at bid price : 19.25
\nBid-YTW : 6.71 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BIP.PR.F<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n-4.46 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.92
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.00
\nBid-YTW : 6.28 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ENB.PR.N<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n-3.94 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.49
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.15
\nBid-YTW : 6.41 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SLF.PR.H<\/td>\nFixedReset Ins Non<\/td>\n-2.76 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.15
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.15
\nBid-YTW : 5.90 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CIU.PR.A<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-2.24 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 19.60
\nEvaluated at bid price : 19.60
\nBid-YTW : 5.89 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SLF.PR.D<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\n-2.22 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.15
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.15
\nBid-YTW : 5.34 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.L<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-2.05 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.73
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.98
\nBid-YTW : 5.84 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BN.PR.Z<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n-1.95 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.90
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.65
\nBid-YTW : 6.32 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.R<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\n-1.20 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.32
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.32
\nBid-YTW : 5.72 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PVS.PR.H<\/td>\nSplitShare<\/td>\n-1.19 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2027-02-28
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.00
\nBid-YTW : 5.33 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BN.PF.B<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n-1.03 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.46
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.15
\nBid-YTW : 6.22 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CU.PR.G<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n1.07 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.80
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.80
\nBid-YTW : 5.43 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ENB.PR.F<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n1.09 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.24
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.24
\nBid-YTW : 6.57 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.Y<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\n1.22 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.75
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.75
\nBid-YTW : 5.50 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MFC.PR.J<\/td>\nFixedReset Ins Non<\/td>\n1.48 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 23.58
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.37
\nBid-YTW : 5.56 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.Q<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\n1.99 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.77
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.05
\nBid-YTW : 5.66 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.S<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n3.95 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.30
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.57
\nBid-YTW : 5.60 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.H<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\n6.97 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.50
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.50
\nBid-YTW : 5.73 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MFC.PR.F<\/td>\nFixedReset Ins Non<\/td>\n10.30 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 18.20
\nEvaluated at bid price : 18.20
\nBid-YTW : 5.87 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MFC.PR.Q<\/td>\nFixedReset Ins Non<\/td>\n10.48 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 23.54
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.41
\nBid-YTW : 5.46 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ENB.PR.B<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n22.75 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.50
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.50
\nBid-YTW : 6.62 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Volume Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nShares
Traded<\/td>\n		Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ENB.PF.G<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n101,800<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.42
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.70
\nBid-YTW : 6.53 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TD.PF.E<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n51,600<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 23.91
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.79
\nBid-YTW : 5.81 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RY.PR.M<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n49,600<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2025-11-24
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.87
\nBid-YTW : 4.60 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.A<\/td>\nFloater<\/td>\n45,400<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 13.76
\nEvaluated at bid price : 13.76
\nBid-YTW : 6.34 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.L<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\n29,500<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 24.88
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.10
\nBid-YTW : 5.70 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ENB.PR.T<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\n25,459<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.20
\nEvaluated at bid price : 22.74
\nBid-YTW : 6.33 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
There were 5 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Wide Spread Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
See TMX DataLinx: ‘Last’ != ‘Close’<\/a> and the posts linked therein for an idea of why these quotes are so horrible.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nQuote Data and Yield Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BN.PF.E<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\nQuote: 20.05 – 21.75
\nSpot Rate : 1.7000
\nAverage : 0.9843<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.05
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.05
\nBid-YTW : 6.83 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

CU.PR.D<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\nQuote: 20.00 – 22.20
\nSpot Rate : 2.2000
\nAverage : 1.5796<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.00
\nBid-YTW : 6.15 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

CU.PR.J<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\nQuote: 20.00 – 21.60
\nSpot Rate : 1.6000
\nAverage : 1.0490<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 20.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.00
\nBid-YTW : 5.96 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

MFC.PR.B<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\nQuote: 22.00 – 23.36
\nSpot Rate : 1.3600
\nAverage : 0.8173<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 21.75
\nEvaluated at bid price : 22.00
\nBid-YTW : 5.36 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

GWO.PR.Q<\/td>\nInsurance Straight<\/td>\nQuote: 23.05 – 24.47
\nSpot Rate : 1.4200
\nAverage : 0.8808<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.77
\nEvaluated at bid price : 23.05
\nBid-YTW : 5.66 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

BIP.PR.F<\/td>\nFixedReset Disc<\/td>\nQuote: 24.00 – 25.25
\nSpot Rate : 1.2500
\nAverage : 0.7690<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2055-08-14
\nMaturity Price : 22.92
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.00
\nBid-YTW : 6.28 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I continue to be fascinated by the impending drying up of US Social Security and there was a decent review on CNN today: \u201cToday, we celebrate that 90th anniversary of one of the most significant …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49331"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49333,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49331\/revisions\/49333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}