William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

The Wall Street Journal has recently noted that significant withdrawal of funds from municipal bonds throughout the country totaled over $4 billion in a one week period. [1] According to some estimates, the withdrawal accounts for only one tenth of one percent of the overall muni bond market.  [2] Yet, the numbers are record breaking.  The withdrawal is the largest from the muni bond market since last November, reports the Wall Street Journal.

However, the trouble seems to have started well before Meredith Whitney appeared on “60 Minutes”  in late December of last year when she call for the future “collapse” of the muni bond market.  In her opinion, the state and local governments will be forced to default on obligations made to bond holders because the governmental entities are quickly running out of liquidity.  Nevertheless, the muni bond numbers reflect the ”10th straight week of outflows, which total roughly $20.6 billion.” [3]

Whitney though may have created in the muni bond market what is now known as Gladwell’s “Tipping Point”.  Read the full analysis at AdvisorFYI