BLE News and Press, BlackRock Municipal Income Trust II From 03/04/22

BlackRock Municipal Income Trust II (NYSE:BLE) declares $0.052/share monthly dividend, -16.1% decrease from prior dividend of $0.062. Forward yield 4.61% Payable April 1; for shareholders of record March 15; ex-div March 14. See BLE Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. Fo...

As dividend investors—and closed-end fund (CEF) investors, specifically—we know to stay the course when market corrections hit: we don’t want to sell and cut off our precious payouts! That’s the opposite of the fanboys and girls who dabble in crypto, prof...

There’s a group of 7%+ dividends out there that are perfect for today’s market. They’re far less volatile than “regular” stocks, their payouts are tax-free, and (for now) you can get them for a steal—as cheap as 93 cents on the dollar! That ...

Interest rate volatility prompted another month of negative total returns. Below-average issuance was counterbalanced by a slowdown in demand. November could provide opportunities ahead of seasonal strength in December and January. For further details see: Muni Seasonal ...

Rising interest rates drove negative total returns. Supply and demand dynamics turned less seasonally favorable and acted as a headwind. More attractive valuations could provide near-term opportunity. For further details see: Munis Remained Tethered To Rates In September...

Interest in municipal closed-end funds (CEFs) vs. municipal bonds often stems from higher return potential - this is mostly due to the use of leverage in municipal closed-end funds. Leverage could potentially amplify both the fund's net asset value (NAV) and its distribution; however,...

Modestly negative performance in August capped a robust summer seasonal period. Issuance exceeded expectations, resulting in less of a supply/demand imbalance than is typical. We maintain a defensive posture into the historically less favorable month of September. For furthe...

The US House Ways and Means Committee released their new 881-page tax proposal –there's some tricky stuff in it. If passed, the new top Federal rate in the US will be 46.4 percent, while the top capital gains tax rate appears it will be 31.8 percent from my calculations. NY...

While they may have become more common over the last 10 years, municipal defaults and bankruptcies still remain rare overall. The five-year all-rated cumulative default rate of municipal bonds throughout the study period (1970-2020) was unchanged at 0.08% and still remains very low. ...

The option-adjusted-spread ((OAS)) on the investment grade or high-grade corporate bond index, is presently about 95-100 bps better than the equivalent Treasury. As of last Friday, August 27th, 2021, the BBB OAS was yielding about 104 bp’s over equivalent Treasuries, which shou...