Muni’s tax-exempt status upheld

Today the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold a state’s right to provide tax-exempt status to in-state municipal bonds.
Read full WSJ story
The ruling overturns a Kentucky appeals court holding that had said the practice violates the U.S. Constitution because it discriminates against out-of-state bonds. The outcome means the opinion will require no changes in [...]

May 14th – What we’re reading

Freddie Mac raising $5.5 billion
April 2008 CPI report  released this morning. Year over year figures are: Headline CPI +3.9%. core CPI +2.3%
Fed is ready to boast TAF loans again if needed
LIBOR/TED spread improving

May 12th – What we’re reading

Ben Bernanke – The Improviser
Credit markets improving
Apple’s online store sold out of iPhones
Treasury Cash Avalanche

Put/Call update

Through 5/12/08 close:
10-day: 0.93
60-day: 1.06
Today: 0.87

High yielding CD update

3 – month

3.55% @ Nexity Bank
3.51% @ E-LOAN

6 – month

3.75% @ Countrywide
3.75% @ Corus Bank

1 – year

4.1% @ GMAC
4.1% @ IndyMac
4.1% @ Countrywide

2 – year

4.25% @ Countrywide

3 – year

4.5% @ Countrywide
4.25% @ Capital One Bank

4 – year

4.75% @ Capital One Bank
4.55% @ E-LOAN

5- year

5% @ Capital One Bank
4.76% @ KeyDirect

May 2nd – What we’re reading…

Bank of America may pass on the Countrywide debt
Fed increases Term Auction Facility (TAF) liquidity by 50%
Buffett buying
Is a friendly Microsoft / Yahoo! deal imminent?

The Employment Situation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the April 2008 Employment Situation report this morning. The report beat the very low expectations by showing a loss of 20,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in April – better than the expected 75,000 job loss estimates. In addition, the unemployment rate was slightly lower at 5% – down from [...]

May 2008 Brinker Fixed Income Advisor online

The May 2008 edition of the Brinker Fixed Income Advisor was published online today.