By Bob Stokes
3/19/2012 5:15:00 PM
"Investors who wait... before acting will be too late. We have to anticipate developments, and the only way we can do that is to use tools that reveal signs of approaching trend change." See the towering economic cumulus clouds that we see so you can prepare for what's ahead...
Filed Under: conquer the crash, credit crisis, debt, debt crisis, deflation, municipal bonds, safe haven
Category: U.S. Economy
By Nico Isaac
3/13/2012 6:00:00 PM
From Miami to Phoenix; New York to California -- a growing wave of debt is forcing many once-thriving municipalities onto the edge of bankruptcy. And in the case of Jefferson County, Alabama -- which filed the largest Chapter 11 case in U.S. history last November -- right over that edge. So, was there a way to identify the pre-conditions of the muncipal bond crisis before it occurred? Yes.
Filed Under: Bob Prechter, conquer the crash, municipal bonds, prechter, Robert Prechter
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
3/5/2012 5:00:00 PM
As pundits chatter about an economic recovery, municipalities are facing bankruptcy - including the largest-ever U.S. city. What's really going on?...
Filed Under: credit rating, debt downgrade, economic depression, foreclosures, home sales, junk bonds, municipal bonds
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
1/20/2012 4:45:00 PM
Investors believe municipal bonds are safe, but the evidence suggests that a change for the worse is underway. That evidence includes...
Filed Under: financial forecast, municipal bonds, mutual funds, pension funds
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
10/12/2011 5:30:00 PM
Today's stock market has plenty of cheerleaders -- even as the rot spreads throughout the economy. Real estate and homebuilding sectors alike continue to decline in the wake of the mortgage meltdown. Municipalities continue to have growing budget problems. We're not talking about a "small town" bankruptcy, either...
Filed Under: debt crisis, economic depression, Elliott Wave Theorist, housing prices, investor psychology, municipal bonds, U.S. Treasuries
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
9/27/2011 5:15:00 PM
What about the safety and stability of the banking system? The September Elliott Wave Theorist states...
Filed Under: conquer the crash, credit rating, municipal bonds, Robert Prechter, banks
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
7/5/2011 5:30:00 PM
States and cities took on large obligations when economic times were good, on the assumption that they'd have enough revenue to pay those bills in the future. But now many of those bills are due and they don't have the funds. The economy went south. To extrapolate the present into the future is unwise because trends change. You need the best method for anticipating major trend changes.We believe that best method is...
Filed Under: credit crisis, deficit, economic depression, municipal bonds, unemployment
Category: U.S. Economy
By Jason Farkas
6/21/2011 2:15:00 PM
Sovereign debt is making the headlines these days, and here is a new way to look at the different risk levels of bonds -- the Debt Parabola, a.k.a. Debt Man's Curve.
Filed Under: emerging markets, eurozone, Greek debt, municipal bonds, pension funds, Robert Prechter, Sovereign Debt, subprime lending, Treasury bills (T-bills), U.S. Treasuries
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
2/3/2011 4:45:00 PM
Before the financial debacle began in 2007, who could imagine that Congress would have to decide whether to spare states from bankruptcy? Almost no one. But please note -- the key word is "almost"...
Filed Under: bailouts, conquer the crash, economic depression, municipal bonds, pension funds
Category: U.S. Economy
By Nico Isaac
1/24/2011 4:45:00 PM
As the cross-country municipal budget crisis grows more dire with each passing month, the solutions to generating revenue are growing even more drastic. Fact: One New York politician recently proposed legalizing the banned sport of steel cage Ultimate Fighting. The logic being: Everyday people are gonna pay good money to see the snot get knocked out of others while they themselves suffer daily financial beat-downs.
Filed Under: conquer the crash, credit crisis, municipal bonds, pension funds, Robert Prechter
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
12/22/2010 5:00:00 PM
It's clear that you cannot count on the mainstream media to alert you to economic trends in time to protect yourself and your family. Their alerts come way too late. The Financial Forecast Service lets you know what we see, before the mainstream crowd. The municipal debt bomb is ticking, and the ticking sound is getting louder...
Filed Under: credit crisis, credit default swaps, municipal bonds
Category: U.S. Economy
By Nico Isaac
12/21/2010 5:15:00 PM
TREASURIES -- the very name conveys a thing that is secure, protected, and will appreciate over time. Otherwise, it'd be called something like "TRASHeries" or "Mattress Stuffers." Then, there's the official seal of the US Department of Treasury: its image of a scale and a key symbolize "balance" and "trust." And, finally, there's the mainstream economic experts who have it on good authority that long-term bonds increase in value during financial instability and uncertainty.
Filed Under: Campaign for Independent Thinking, conquer the crash, junk bonds, municipal bonds, Robert Prechter, U.S. Treasuries, Treasury bonds
Category: Interest Rates
By Debbie Iseler
12/8/2010 3:30:00 PM
...I asked what kind of bonds they got into. “High-yield bond funds,” was the answer. What kind of bonds are these funds invested in? To this question I got blank stares. How long do you plan on staying in these funds? This got the reply I was afraid I'd hear: “Why would we get out when they are so much safer than stocks?” That's when my new interest in these once boring investments turned to fear -- for my friends.
Filed Under: junk bonds, municipal bonds, mutual funds, personal finance, Robert Prechter, U.S. Treasuries, Treasury bonds
Category: Interest Rates
By Nico Isaac
11/22/2010 5:30:00 PM
This November, the whole world tuned in as the greater part of the U.S.A.'s 50 states turned red -- and no, I don't mean the political shift to a republican majority during the November 2 mid-term elections. I mean "in the red" -- as in, financially fercockt, overdrawn, up to their eyeballs in debt.
Filed Under: municipal bonds
Category: U.S. Economy
The Next Major Disaster Developing for Bond Holders
A must-read FREE report for investors in fixed-income markets like Treasury bonds, municipal bonds or high-yield bonds
By Editorial Staff
11/3/2010 11:15:00 AM
Elliott wave analysis can warn you of trend changes when the rest of the investment public least expects a market reversal. With that in mind, we have created a new report for our free Club EWI members: "The Next Major Disaster Developing for Bond Holders." Enjoy this excerpt -- and for details on how to read this important report free, today, look below the excerpt.
Filed Under: Robert Prechter, Treasury bonds, municipal bonds
Category: Interest Rates
By Editorial Staff
10/7/2010 4:00:00 PM
This is Part VII of our multi-part series of questions and answers with Robert Prechter, president of Elliott Wave International and the world's foremost authority on Elliott wave analysis. We are posting a new part every business day, so come back to elliottwave.com tomorrow for more!
Filed Under: Robert Prechter, junk bonds, municipal bonds, Treasury bonds
Category: Stocks
By Nico Isaac
7/19/2010 5:45:00 PM
Over the past six months, the municipal bond market has melted like a snow cone in the Sahara desert. According to recent data, 35 muni bond issues totaling $1.5 billion have defaulted since January 2010, three times the average annualized rate going back to 1983. Still, as bad as things get in Muniland, the mainstream demand for tax-exempt general obligations has held firm.
Filed Under: municipal bonds
Category: U.S. Economy
By Nico Isaac
4/15/2010 12:30:00 PM
According to the mainstream experts, all bonds are NOT created equal. There is debt, and then there is government-backed debt. And never the twain shall meet. So, when all asset-backed forms of credit were pulled under by the financial tsunami, the general consensus was that investors should keep moving to higher ground. And don't stop until you hit the Municipal Bond market. Lo and behold, the "twain" met anyway.
Filed Under: municipal bonds, municipal bonds, municipal bonds, Robert Prechter
Category: U.S. Economy
By Jason Farkas
3/2/2010 2:30:00 PM
Many investors are blissfully unaware of the fact that many muni funds use leverage to pay high distributions. This added layer of risk makes these funds subject to the same liquidity concerns that plague other risky assets -- and as such, many muni bond funds act similarly to stocks.
Filed Under: municipal bonds, municipal bonds, Robert Prechter, U.S. Treasuries, S&P 500, gold futures, silver futures, junk bonds, emerging markets, Fibonacci
Category: U.S. Economy
By Nico Isaac
12/2/2009 6:30:00 PM
For an economy to run smoothly, two players must coexist: A willing and able lender and a well-qualified borrower to pay said lender back, with interest. Take either one away, and the system goes -- as my grandma used to say -- "Plotz!" Case in point: the "muni-bond malaise" of early 2009.
Filed Under: municipal bonds, municipal bonds, municipal bonds
Category: U.S. Economy