{"id":6506,"date":"2009-05-11T20:26:39","date_gmt":"2009-05-12T00:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prefblog.com\/?p=6506"},"modified":"2009-05-11T20:26:39","modified_gmt":"2009-05-12T00:26:39","slug":"may-11-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/?p=6506","title":{"rendered":"May 11, 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

About a year ago, there were wild claims being made (e.g., Naked Capitalism<\/a>) that grading US municipalities on a global scale would bring about Nirvana and the end of useless and expensive municipal bond insurance. It turns out – surprise, surprise – that despite the changes, there are still credit differences between municipalities and the weaker credits still need insurance<\/a> to flog their bonds:<\/p>\n

An early contender to replace them, Warren Buffett\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp., was downgraded to Aa1 by Moody\u2019s Investors Service in April. The billionaire investor in February called tax-exempt bond guarantees \u201ca dangerous business.\u201d His firm insured $3.3 billion in issues last year, ranking third in the industry.<\/p>\n

Buffett\u2019s warning isn\u2019t stopping Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia\u2019s biggest securities firm, from backing a new guarantor: Municipal and Infrastructure Assurance Corp. plans to sell its first policy by July, said Richard E. Kolman, the New York-based startup\u2019s executive vice chairman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is surprising to find that municipal bond insurance is anything but moribund in the early going in 2009,\u201d wrote Philip J. Fischer, a Merrill Lynch & Co. municipal strategist in New York, in an April 6 report.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The overall market price changes were minimal today, although volume continued strong. It was most interesting to see that FixedResets were shut out of the volume-leaders table … that hasn’t happened in a while!<\/p>\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>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.4548 %<\/td>\n1,056.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedFloater<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.4548 %<\/td>\n1,708.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Floater<\/td>\n3.57 %<\/td>\n4.32 %<\/td>\n75,787<\/td>\n16.73<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n0.4548 %<\/td>\n1,319.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OpRet<\/td>\n5.07 %<\/td>\n4.23 %<\/td>\n134,065<\/td>\n3.66<\/td>\n15<\/td>\n-0.0425 %<\/td>\n2,146.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SplitShare<\/td>\n6.01 %<\/td>\n7.15 %<\/td>\n46,712<\/td>\n4.26<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n1.1971 %<\/td>\n1,785.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interest-Bearing<\/td>\n6.00 %<\/td>\n6.73 %<\/td>\n27,975<\/td>\n0.62<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0.4016 %<\/td>\n1,987.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Premium<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.0259 %<\/td>\n1,687.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Discount<\/td>\n6.48 %<\/td>\n6.56 %<\/td>\n151,446<\/td>\n13.14<\/td>\n71<\/td>\n0.0259 %<\/td>\n1,554.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedReset<\/td>\n5.75 %<\/td>\n4.96 %<\/td>\n511,158<\/td>\n4.52<\/td>\n36<\/td>\n0.1452 %<\/td>\n1,969.9<\/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
Performance Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nChange<\/td>\nNotes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BMO.PR.H<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-1.86 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 21.63
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.63
\nBid-YTW : 6.15 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
POW.PR.D<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-1.72 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 18.91
\nEvaluated at bid price : 18.91
\nBid-YTW : 6.70 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BAM.PR.J<\/td>\nOpRet<\/td>\n-1.67 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Soft Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2018-03-30
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.14
\nBid-YTW : 8.01 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.F<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-1.55 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 19.65
\nEvaluated at bid price : 19.65
\nBid-YTW : 6.75 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CM.PR.J<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-1.33 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 17.10
\nEvaluated at bid price : 17.10
\nBid-YTW : 6.65 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BMO.PR.O<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n-1.30 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2014-06-24
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 26.50
\nBid-YTW : 5.39 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
POW.PR.A<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-1.11 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 20.52
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.52
\nBid-YTW : 6.92 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BMO.PR.J<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n-1.07 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 18.41
\nEvaluated at bid price : 18.41
\nBid-YTW : 6.14 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TRI.PR.B<\/td>\nFloater<\/td>\n1.03 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 14.75
\nEvaluated at bid price : 14.75
\nBid-YTW : 2.69 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.E<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n1.06 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 21.05
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.05
\nBid-YTW : 6.60 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TD.PR.I<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n1.14 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2014-08-30
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 26.65
\nBid-YTW : 4.90 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NA.PR.N<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n1.16 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 25.34
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.39
\nBid-YTW : 4.17 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BMO.PR.K<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n1.16 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 20.90
\nEvaluated at bid price : 20.90
\nBid-YTW : 6.31 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CM.PR.A<\/td>\nOpRet<\/td>\n1.25 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2009-06-10
\nMaturity Price : 25.50
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.86
\nBid-YTW : -9.75 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
HSB.PR.C<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n1.35 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 19.51
\nEvaluated at bid price : 19.51
\nBid-YTW : 6.64 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CM.PR.G<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n1.38 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 19.88
\nEvaluated at bid price : 19.88
\nBid-YTW : 6.87 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TD.PR.Y<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n1.41 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 24.43
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.48
\nBid-YTW : 4.01 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.H<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n1.94 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 18.41
\nEvaluated at bid price : 18.41
\nBid-YTW : 6.70 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MFC.PR.C<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n1.94 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 17.86
\nEvaluated at bid price : 17.86
\nBid-YTW : 6.42 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.G<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n2.20 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 22.01
\nEvaluated at bid price : 22.25
\nBid-YTW : 6.69 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.G<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n2.24 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 19.13
\nEvaluated at bid price : 19.13
\nBid-YTW : 6.91 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BNA.PR.C<\/td>\nSplitShare<\/td>\n3.78 %<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2019-01-10
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 14.00
\nBid-YTW : 12.53 %<\/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
TD.PR.M<\/td>\nOpRet<\/td>\n201,300<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Soft Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2013-10-30
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.91
\nBid-YTW : 3.86 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CM.PR.A<\/td>\nOpRet<\/td>\n144,676<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2009-06-10
\nMaturity Price : 25.50
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.86
\nBid-YTW : -9.75 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MFC.PR.B<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n110,096<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 18.13
\nEvaluated at bid price : 18.13
\nBid-YTW : 6.53 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BNS.PR.N<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n108,743<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 21.35
\nEvaluated at bid price : 21.66
\nBid-YTW : 6.10 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GWO.PR.G<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n64,200<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 19.13
\nEvaluated at bid price : 19.13
\nBid-YTW : 6.91 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RY.PR.D<\/td>\nPerpetual-Discount<\/td>\n63,890<\/td>\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2039-05-11
\nMaturity Price : 18.08
\nEvaluated at bid price : 18.08
\nBid-YTW : 6.26 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
There were 34 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About a year ago, there were wild claims being made (e.g., Naked Capitalism) that grading US municipalities on a global scale would bring about Nirvana and the end of useless and expensive municipal bond insurance. …<\/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-6506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6506","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=6506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}