BBK News and Press, Blackrock Municipal Bond Trust From 06/04/21

Risk-adjusted performance for the Global Market Index (GMI) continued to tick higher in May. GMI’s Sharpe ratio — a measure of risk-adjusted return – rose to 0.82 on a trailing 10-year basis through last month. That’s close to a pandemic high, but still...

Average yields on 10-year AAA muni bonds rose less than half that of Treasuries year to date and hover just below 1%. Municipals remain attractive due to a combination of prevailing tailwinds and long-term fundamental strengths. Muni bonds cover a wide range of maturities and qual...

Munis posted another strong month amid falling rates and favorable market dynamics. Seasonal weakness typical of mid-April was averted due to the delayed tax-filing deadline. Although valuations appear rich, economic and political themes look positive for municipals. For fur...

Diversification remains key. Flexible strategies can also take advantage of a more uncertain yield and spread environment. We continue to find reasonable opportunity in both public and private credit markets. We find value in non-agency mortgages and prefer cyclicals to growth sto...

Action at the state and local levels could help drive demand for municipal bonds. The 2017 Trump tax cuts dramatically impacted the buying behavior of individual and corporate taxpayers (banks and insurance companies) in very distinct ways. In our view, passage of President Biden'...

Nineteen out of 23 CEF sectors are positive on price and 21 out of 23 sectors positive on NAV last week. THW rights offering concludes and was undersubscribed. GUT's and CLM/CRF's rights offerings commentary. IRR will liquidate in another Saba victory, while IID was successful...

U.S. infrastructure-themed ETFs have seen assets under management grow more than eightfold over that time frame as a result of positive flows. The focus on clean energy initiatives in the bill, combined with this administration's broader climate agenda, could also prove beneficial to ...

The fixed income world is beginning to undergo a multiyear transition as aggressive monetary accommodation and government spending across key economies drive higher near-term economic growth rates. The result could be a shift to higher real rates as output gaps narrow, as well as mode...

The recent passage of US President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, "The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," not only includes checks for individuals, but also allocates funds for state and local governments. The new relief package allots $195.3 billion for states, te...

Are we going to go back to the past, as economies around the world open and vaccinations and herd immunity take hold? At Cumberland Advisors, we see less near-term municipal credit risk, but we are a little cautious of weaker sectors and regions that may not receive aid or that have h...