Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
I would trust AAA rated corporates over AAA rated securitized stuff.
There are lots of assumptions built into AAA rated tranche of structured credits that may have only A or BBB rated underlying portfolios. So, I won't take AAA CLO at face value, …
@Anna, trend is just the opposite. Many states that were exempt from SSA have joined the SSA. Now, their employees can have both the state pensions and SSA. Of course, the SSA mandatory deductions are in addition to the mandatory state deductions.
…
NCUA
The Federal National Credit Union Administration (NCUA, 1934- ) insures deposits at credit unions. These are nonprofit, smaller and simpler in functions and operations than banks, have some corporate, institutional or organizational connection…
It's not an issue like the mini-budget deal that had to be rushed to avoid the government shutdown. That may have drained some oxygen in the DC.
As for the WEP & GPO repeal, here is the timeline:
Saturday, 12/21/24 - Senate passed it
Tuesday,…
@stillers, thanks.
That is from an article on "Portfolio Income & Withdrawals" that I published in a local e-paper this week (the full weekly issue isn't out yet, may be later today). It may also be of interest to others here.
https://ybbperson…
Mini-Grayscale BTC (ER 15 bps) now has $3.7 billion AUM and trades an average of 2 million shares/day. That is good enough for retail investors.
BTC vs the elder GBTC (150 bps) is a liquidity game for Grayscale. So, GBTC has very high ER, but also…
A 30-yr zero will have a duration of 30 years, 30-yr T-Bonds less due to coupon payments.
If like to lock in some at current yield (4.76%) without reinvestment risk, look at 30-yr Treasury Zero-Coupon. It may cost about $25 for $100 par in 30 yrs.
T-Notes are 1+ to 10 year maturities.
T-Bonds are 10+ to 30 year maturities. They have high duration, so high rate sensitivity. You can have large gains or haircuts when selling before maturity. They will pay par on maturity - that is guaranteed b…
IBIT is at #35 among the top 100 ETFs by AUM. It started just in 01/2024. Surprising that GBTC (with very high ER) is #100.
https://etfdb.com/compare/market-cap/
How about Europe? Marshall Plan & MSA paid for a lot of what Europe is now.
Canada for sure - it keeps sending those Alberta Clippers to the Midwest in Winter. This has gone on long enough.
Bond rating and insurer ratings have very different criteria. And different things happen in cases of failures.
If a company issuing bond goes under, bond investors are in line with other creditors depending on where the bond is in the capital stru…
I have followed this thread, but had only 2 short posts on T-Note quotes & FRN USFR.
IMO, good CD alternatives are T-Bills/Notes (noncallable). All these can be held to maturity without incurring losses. The CD & Treasuries investors are qu…
There will also be a 5-yr internal review of Fed operations that will be released formally at the 2025 Jackson Hole Fed Conference.
In a related news on Fed Stress-Tests, some banks are planning to sue the Fed over it,
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/…
This settlement about Vanguard TDFs (or, TRFs, as VG also calls them) happened a month ago in November 2024. Issue arose from poor handling of the merger of 2 VG TDFs in 2022. VG Chester is the name VG uses for a group of its funds of funds. Those a…
WEP & GPO offsets were simple and crude mechanisms that had been in effect for 41 years. Now they are gone for at least 10 years. The public perception may have changed too about their fairness or unfairness.
My guess is that they may comeback…
WEP & GPO Repealed
Social Security WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) & GPO (Government Pension Offset) offsets have been repealed. This isn’t an adjustment or modification, but a repeal. The extra costs by elimination of WEP & GPO may…
A follow up from Morningstar indicated that M* Discussions’ offline status is permanent & they aren’t coming back.
The day the M* Discussions died is noted as 12/20/24, about 1:00 PM Central.
UPDATE
Morningstar Discussions
A problem surfaced on 12/11/24 at M* Discussions that real names started showing instead of the UserIDs. M* hasn’t been unable to fix this problem in over 9 days. Now, M* Discussions have been taken offline, hopefull…
Things to be done in DC today:
Budget CR to avoid Government shutdown
WEP & GPO Relief Bill (if not today, the process will have to restart from scratch in the next Congress)
Both normally take days, but today is the drop dead date on both.
Response from M* is that it's working to fix this problem with real names vs userIDs. As M* Discussions now require login, this issue is within the M* community (private), and not public.
Notes by YBB
(My PC decided to have an update around 1:00 PM, so the posting of some FOMC Statement links via phone had an incorrect date. This was corrected where possible.)
Rates: Fed funds cut 25 bps to 4.25-4.50%, bank reserves rate to 4.40%, …
Interesting article about the potential of bad drones. The local law enforcement is basically powerless in countering bad drones - they have to use secondary methods (traffic cameras, local intelligence, etc) to detect bad drones.
The only federal …
Strangely, it’s illegal to interfere with drone operations. So, don't get into trouble by pulling down a drone over your backyard. Even the law enforcement cannot do anything without warrants.
This is ridiculous.
If drones have protections simil…
If you have more than enough, Schwab has good examples for various tax angles,
https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/tax-smart-ways-to-gift-highly-appreciated-assets?cmp=em-XCU
Well, with either #1 or #2, you get the tax saving, but have $40 in your hands and still have $24 to soft-manage within the DAF.
Remember, $64K with large unrealized gain does have higher market risk.
Actually, a 3rd scenario (variation of #2) can…
@equalizer, will you be covered through employer group health insurance plan until 65 when Medicare kicks in?
Years ago, mine did only IF I opted for pension, not lump-sum. But plans differ on this.
Federal Insurance Office (FIO) is already a newer smallish unit within the Treasury. As much of the insurance regulation in the US is under the states, the FIO has no separate regulatory authority. But FIO (i) keeps tabs on insurance business, (ii) …
There is the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) now that is chaired by the Treasury Secretary and includes all of the important financial agencies that exist. Just folding everything into Treasury may make Treasury a super agency. That may…
@hank, I remember that very much. I have done a few Amazon reviews. When I did one for a book by a colleague, I thought I would do it as real-me. To my horror, I found that all of my Amazon reviews then turned into real-me. I waited a month or so an…
Hawk (Tuah) token debuted last week. It rose spectacularly and crashed on the same day. Now people are talking about suing the clueless 22-yr old country girl Haliey Welch (Hawk Tuah girl) from Tennessee. I also don't believe those people who say th…
Some of the sites I use have txt 2FA, Google Authenticator, or Symantec VIP; some combination may apply too.
It may be difficult to use an authenticator not preferred by a site.
All have weaknesses. txt 2FA doesn't use encryption. Symantec VIP ap…
Thesis and capstone/project are different. Some undergraduate programs have both, but capstone/project is more common. In engineering programs, the name Senior Design (Project) may be used.
Thesis is an in-depth individual effort.
Capstone/project…
CPI +2.7%, core +3.3%, both in line with expectations (Wednesday)
PPI +3.0%, core +3.5%, both above expectations (today, Thursday)
Remember that PPI is based on wholesale prices and when those are rising, the next CPI readings (based on retail pric…
