“Nero” was an early canine watch dog of the US Treasury … from the UST site…
“Henry Voight, first Superintendent and Chief Coiner of the first United States Mint at Philadelphia, was Nero’s sponsor. The Mint paid $3 for Nero. The expenditure is recorded in a handwritten “Account of Contingent Expenses Incurred in the Mint” […]
I’m planning to add California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer to the “Shopyield Hall of Fame”.
Treasurer Lockyer has been leading the charge to standardize the corporate and muni rating scales. This simple act will restructure vast swaths of the fixed income markets… His latest public act is to inform the folks at Berkshire Hathaway that his […]
Finra sent around an investor update that reminds us of the differential tax rates on various fixed income securities…. generally the scheme for taxing interest income is a hash … and surely another reason that fixed income is not widely held by Americans… from Finra …
“…Whether or not you will need to pay taxes […]
The AP is reporting a renewed effort for Congress to amend the IRS rules and allow Federal Home Loan banks to issue letters of credit to wrap municipal underwritings… from the AP…
“… After scrutinizing the credit quality of the municipal government agency or hospital issuing a bond, a FHLB member bank could extend a […]
Maybe Bear’s collapse and Treasury’s extraordinary efforts are enough to bring spreads down … we should have a better idea after quarter end …
The US Treasury has announced that individuals will be able to buy Treasury securities in amounts as small as $100, down from the current minimum of $1,000.The change will take effect for the weekly auction of three-month and six-month Treasury bills that will be held on April 7.
Anthony Ryan, assistant Treasury secretary for financial markets […]
Now this is real progress for credit markets…
“…CME Group, the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced that it has acquired Credit Market Analysis Limited (CMA), a leading provider of credit derivatives market data.
This move will provide CME Group with greater exposure to the rapidly growing $46 trillion in notional outstanding credit […]
….Dixit ergo eis Iesus adhuc modicum lumen in vobis est ambulate dum lucem habetis ut non tenebrae vos conprehendant et qui ambulat in tenebris nescit quo vadat…
‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the […]
From BBG: “U.S. Representative Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Congress should consider creating an agency to monitor risk across markets, saying stronger safeguards are needed since financial tools such as securitization have outpaced regulation.
“We now see a situation in which more damage was done by inadequate regulation than by excessive […]
This picture doesn’t suggest a healthy, robust industry…. Fitch issues a Q&A about their ratings methodology for bond insurers… excellent article in The Bond Buyer here …
