Word: bonding
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...trouble started in March, when an Illinois court left the Marlboro Man (Altria, formerly Philip Morris) gasping over the prospect of having to post a $12 billion bond before it could appeal an adverse verdict over its marketing of "light" cigarettes. Altria threatened Chapter 11, its corporate-bond ratings were slashed, and state-tobacco bonds reeled, losing 10% of their value. Virginia postponed a $767 million tobacco-bond sale--and that highlighted the real problem...
...exempt investors tend to be a conservative bunch. So they may be excused for choking on the sudden sickliness of so-called state tobacco bonds. These unusual securities, whose prices have bucked wildly, are a small part of the $1.8 trillion U.S. municipal-bond market. But they've infected other bonds, boosting volatility and hurting prices. Yet some bargains have emerged...
States are in terrible financial shape. Investors are worried--especially with tobacco-bond income imperiled--that states won't be able to service their other bonds. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration's push to cut taxes on stock dividends could make tax-free bonds less attractive. As a result, yields on the best-quality tax-free munis have reached a rare parity with those of taxable Treasury bonds. In both cases you can get about 4% on a 10-year issue. A T-bond would have to yield 5.7% to generate the same after-tax income as a 4% muni...
...uncovered. Local officers were authorized to make payments of $2,500 on the spot. "The White House is screaming, 'Find me some WMD,'" says a State Department official, adding that the task is one of many suddenly facing the department. Members of the Administration must feel a new bond with Blix, since they are now the ones arguing that these things take time...
...drinking a soy latte/I get a double shote/It goes right through my body/And you know I'm satisfied"--may be ironic, but it's also thoroughly annoying. There are a couple of other techno dogs, most notably Die Another Day, which isn't just the worst James Bond theme of all time (and no, I haven't forgotten Sheena Easton's) but also the most soulless song of Madonna's career...