MYI News and Press, Blackrock MuniYield Quality Fund III Inc From 02/27/22

2022 has not been kind to municipal bonds so far with an unusually sharp drawdown to kick off the year, driven by persistent inflation and a hawkish Fed. Sector valuations in absolute yield terms, relative to Treasuries and in CEF discount terms, are all now much more attractive than ...

Munis are giving us a chance to own them again at some compelling discounts relative to long-term valuations. Today's valuations are in the bottom 20% of all observed data points going back to 1996. Thus, only 20% of the time have discounts been wider. However, when you compared c...

We review CEF market valuation and performance through the fourth week of January and highlight recent market action. CEF discounts recovered this week after what looked like retail capitulation and despite NAVs moving lower on the week. Investors can sometimes be swayed by the op...

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 ...

We review CEF market valuation and performance over the last week of October and highlight recent market events. In aggregate, October was a near mirror-image of the price action in September as the market delivered decent NAV gains as well as strong discount action. Taper tantrum...

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. ...