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Hard to miss the fact that the NYTimes lays the blame for the 2010 muni bond collapse at the feet of CBS News, and doesn't even mention Meredith Whitney (to whom CBS gave a platform).
Franklin-Templeton speaker notes that: “Puerto Rico wasn’t anything new, either. The issues are well known.” That's a fair statement from them. AFAIK, they offer the only Puerto Rico bond fund (well, a US Territories fund, called Franklin Double Tax-Free Income Fund FDBZX, that is over 70% PR bonds).
They closed the fund August 1, 2012, saying in part that: "Puerto Rico experienced downgrades from Moody’s Investors Service that contributed to the underperformance of Puerto Rico bonds versus the market." Though their annual report went on to state that they closed the fund because "we have been challenged to keep the Fund fully invested while meeting certain diversification requirements for federal income tax purposes."
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Franklin-Templeton speaker notes that: “Puerto Rico wasn’t anything new, either. The issues are well known.” That's a fair statement from them. AFAIK, they offer the only Puerto Rico bond fund (well, a US Territories fund, called Franklin Double Tax-Free Income Fund FDBZX, that is over 70% PR bonds).
They closed the fund August 1, 2012, saying in part that: "Puerto Rico experienced downgrades from Moody’s Investors Service that contributed to the underperformance of Puerto Rico bonds versus the market." Though their annual report went on to state that they closed the fund because "we have been challenged to keep the Fund fully invested while meeting certain diversification requirements for federal income tax purposes."
If you have the stomach for it, this would seem like a good buying opportunity for PR bonds. Here's the NAV curve for the Franklin Fund:
https://www.franklintempleton.com/retail/app/product/views/fund_page.jsf?fundNumber=085&view=pricing