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http://muni360.com/americas-un-greek-tragedies-in-puerto-rico-and-appalachia/

America’s Un-Greek Tragedies in Puerto Rico and Appalachia So is Puerto Rico America’s Greece? No, it isn’t, and it’s important to understand why.

http://muni360.com/puerto-rico-feds/

Mayor de Blasio: Feds must rescue Puerto Rico Just days before Puerto Rico is expected to default on billions of dollars in debt, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio demanded the Feds immediately come to the island's fiscal rescue.

http://muni360.com/rate-rise/

U.S. municipal bond investors stash cash ahead of expected rate rise The Federal Reserve is expected on Wednesday to point to a growing U.S. economy and stronger job market as it sets the stage for a possible interest rate hike in September.

http://muni360.com/puerto-rico-not-getting-u-s-help-white-house-says/

Puerto Rico Not Getting U.S. Help, White House Says The White House threw cold water Monday on the notion of bailing out Puerto Rico from its financial crisis, instead urging Congress to consider changing the law so the island can declare bankruptcy.

http://muni360.com/puerto-rico-debt-crisis/

Politicians think Puerto Ricans are dumb. But we know the debt crisis is their doing And now those poor, ageing people are going to be asked to pay off an enormous debt crisis incurred by their political leaders too lazy or too incompetent to have made forward-thinking political decisions for more than a generation.

http://muni360.com/municipal-bond-funds-face-more-stress/

Municipal Bond Funds Face More Stress But as with each recent challenge, managers of municipal bond funds expect the market to power through. Even though most funds own Puerto Rican bonds, the average amount is 3.4 percent of total assets, among funds with any at all.

http://muni360.com/junk-bond-status/

Chicago Paying The Price For Junk Bond Status On May 12, Moody’s downgraded the city’s general obligation bonds to junk bond status

http://muni360.com/what-puerto-ricos-missed-debt-payment-means/

U.S. investors could face losses in their municipal bond portfolios in the wake of Puerto Rico missing a debt payment on Thursday for the first time ever.

The U.S. territory has been at the brink of missing a payment on its $72 billion in bonds before but always managed to secure a last-minute financing deal, the most recent lifeline coming from bond insurers of the island’s power utility.

What Puerto Rico’s missed debt payment means Publisher: MarketWatch Author: Ellie Ismailidou U.S. investors could face losses in their municipal bond portfolios in the wake of Puerto Rico missing a bond payment on Thursday for the first time ever. The U.S. territory has been at the brink of missing a payment on its $72 billion in bonds before…

http://muni360.com/a-caribbean-fuse/

For more than two years Alejandro García Padilla, Puerto Rico’s governor, told the island’s creditors what they wanted to hear. The autonomous American territory, he said, had a “moral obligation” to service its $72 billion debt. It could not default on its “general-obligation” bonds, he added, because its constitution gives payments on them priority over all other expenses.

A Caribbean Fuse America’s minimum wage applies in the Caribbean territory, but local workers are less productive than their counterparts on the mainland (the minimum wage is equivalent to 77% of Puerto Ricans’ average income).

http://muni360.com/major-puerto-rico-investor-warns-it-stands-ready-to-defend-bonds/

U.S. fund manager OppenheimerFunds, the largest holder of Puerto Rico debt among U.S. municipal bond funds, warned the island it stands ready to defend the terms of bonds it holds, a day after the governor said he wanted to restructure debt and postpone bond payments.

Major Puerto Rico investor warns it stands ready to defend bonds Puerto Rico investor OppenheimerFunds, the largest holder of Puerto Rico debt among U.S. municipal bond funds, warned the island it stands ready to defend the terms of bonds it holds, a day after the governor said he wanted to restructure debt and postpone bond payments.

http://muni360.com/the-next-greece-may-be-in-the-u-s/

When Chicago Public Schools announced on June 24 that it would borrow $1 billion to make a $600 million-plus pension payment due June 30, an eerie feeling spread across bond investors and taxpayers alike.

It was the same feeling that gripped investors when Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Chicago’s credit rating to junk based almost entirely on the city’s pension problems.

The next Greece may be in the U.S. In the U.S. bankruptcies of Detroit, Vallejo, Stockton and San Bernardino, bondholders have faced losses of up to 99% of their holdings, according to a Moody’s report dated May 18. Meanwhile all three California cities chose to preserve full pensions for their employees, while Detroit only cut pensi…

http://muni360.com/puerto-ricos-deepening-crisis-threatens-high-yield-u-s-funds/

Puerto Rico’s deepening financial crisis could speed up an exodus of money from U.S. municipal bond funds that have placed big bets on the cash-strapped Caribbean island.

Puerto Rico's deepening crisis threatens high-yield U.S. funds Before this week's crisis, veteran Eaton Vance bond fund manager Tom Metzold said Puerto Rico's problems could trigger a domino effect, partly from portfolio managers selling assets to meet investor redemption demands.