municipal bonds

Some municipal bond exchange traded funds hold a lot of those bonds, but many of those funds focus on certain types of municipal debt or specific durations and maturities. A new ETF offers investors a unique approach to increasing the depth and diversity of their municipal bond exposure. What...

When J.B. Pritzker, Illinois' new Democratic governor, proposed his first budget, he warned that getting the state’s troubled finances in order would be a long-term project. “It took decades to get us into this mess. It will take at least several years to get us out of it,” he...

Municipal bonds and the relevant exchange traded funds are prime destinations for conservative fixed-income investors. Some of these funds feature access to a wide range of municipal debt at favorable price points. That group includes the Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (NYSE: VTEB). What Happened...

With U.S. interest rates still near historic lows and other major developed markets sporting even more piddly sovereign debt yields, income investors continue embracing unique, high-yield asset classes such as preferred stocks. The universe of preferred exchange-traded funds grew Thursday with the...

Interest rates are rising in the U.S., but remain well below an area that's considered historically average. In other major developed markets, benchmark borrowing costs are at or near record lows, or in some cases, negative. That is to say investors in ex-U.S. developed markets are looking for...

The Federal Reserve could raise interest rates for the first time in 2016 next month, but one rate hike probably will not be enough to deter yield-seeking investors and some of their favored destinations, such as municipal bond exchange-traded funds. The combination of interest rates remaining...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor Advocate Rick Fleming recently gave a speech discussing the state of the the municipal securities market. Fleming noted approximately 41 percent of municipal bonds are owned by individual investors, while another 29 percent are owned by...

Despite record-low yields and growing concerns about the health of many U.S. local governments, Citi analyst Vikram Rai believes investors should still be buying municipal bonds. According to Rai, the situation is far from ideal, but municipal bonds offer advantages over other fixed-income...

Six years after Meredith Whitney told "60 Minutes" that municipal bonds were the “largest threat to the U.S. economy,” Whitney may finally be starting to feel some vindication. For years, Whitney was chastised by the Wall Street Journal and others for being totally wrong on her call for...

Many investors view bonds, particularly U.S. government debt and municipal bonds, as less than exciting. But boring has been beautiful in the fixed income world this year, as the Federal Reserve has consistently held off on raising interest rates. Of course, there are ways for investors to liven up...

Oil prices are on the mend this year, but the United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) (NYSE: USO) would need to more than triple to sniff its 2014 highs. USO, which tracks front-month West Texas Intermediate futures, would need to nearly quadruple to come within striking distance of its 2012 highs. Heading...

Among the fixed income exchange-traded funds that find themselves in the sweet spot thanks to the Federal Reserve consistently passing on another interest rate hike are municipal bond funds, particularly those of the longer-dated variety. Although there has been some chatter regarding the impact of...

Cate Long was recently a guest on #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show hosted by Joel Elconin and Dennis Dick. Trading municipal bond funds during a massive market-wide sell-off like the one seen on Monday may not be a top priority for most investors. However, Cate Long, a municipal...

If the Holy Grail for income investors is a dependable, high-yielding, tax-exempt dividend; then small-cap America First Multifamily Investors LP (NASDAQ: ATAX) is certainly worth a closer look. On May 11, Oppenheimer & Co. released a quarterly update maintaining its Outperform rating on...

Last Friday was a great day for Detroit, according to Cate Long, after a Federal judge approved the city’s bankruptcy exit plan. “It looks like the judge will sign off on this pretty quickly, and then Detroit can get to the business of implementing their new financial structure,...