Pennsylvania + Wall

By Richard Brueckner

I grew up when we were still a nation of savers. The personal savings rate in the U.S. at the time I graduated college was hovering around the 10-percent mark. Like most people my age, I’d been schooled early on in the importance of putting money away for the future. I had my first paying job at age eight, opened my first savings account as a teenager and learned about compound interest (investment vehicles at the time were fairly straightforward)..... Read more...

By Michael Decker

Why invest in the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market? Tax exemption, low default risk, and an investment that lends money to state and local governments to build roads, schools, and hospitals, among other essential needs, are among some of the compelling reasons. And the returns:  the average weekly value of the Bond Buyer 20-bond GO Index over the last 20 years (1993-2012) is 5.0%. Generally, municipal bond investors' interest income is exempt from taxation, so for an investor in the 35% federal tax bracket and with a 5% state income tax buying in-state bonds, that 5.0% translates into a taxable equivalent yield of 8.3%, a very attractive return for so little credit risk. Now in 2013, with the 39.6% federal bracket back in place and a new tax on investments in effect, the value of tax-exempt interest is even larger..... Read more...

By Timothy Cameron

Pitchmen offering eminent domain as a no-cost solution to cities dealing with high levels of foreclosures continue to creep around the country. Their proposed plan to abrogate a perfectly valid contract by seizing mortgages to force loan restructurings is an offer that should be refused. Unless, of course, the cities deliberately want to further depress housing prices in their communities at a time when housing prices are seen to be recovering across the country. .... Read more...

By Thomas Price and Karl Schimmeck

The Administration's budget proposal appropriately recognizes the very real threat of cyber attacks on the United States and its businesses and individuals. Cybersecurity is a key priority for the financial industry as we work to protect our clients' and firms' confidential data while maximizing the potential of technology to improve client service and the efficiency of the financial markets..... Read more...

By Michael Decker

Prior to Dodd-Frank, municipal advisors (consultants who advise state and local governments on bond issuance, used of derivatives and other related financial matters) were wholly unregulated.

These independent, non-dealer municipal advisors are engaging in the business of advising municipal issuers without having.... Read more...

By Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr.

France and Italy recently enacted separate financial transaction tax schemes that will affect investors and markets far beyond their borders. And now eleven European Union member states including France and Italy have recently pushed through a directive to implement a uniform financial transaction tax across those states.  But as drafted, it appears that those states would not only like to tax transactions taking place within their borders, but around the world and right here in the United States..... Read more...

By Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr.

This morning, the Senate Finance Committee will consider Jack Lew’s nomination to be Treasury Secretary. As with any confirmation hearing, it is important that Senators ask probing questions of a nominee to determine how he or she will manage the department and its responsibilities they are being entrusted to run. As he is slated to occupy one of the most important cabinet positions in the Obama Administration, one topic Senators should ask of Mr. Lew is what his plans will be for chairing the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)..... Read more...