Business initiatives to create some 10,000 new jobs have also been presented, which may give hope to investors that the long period of economic decline might be arrested. Price performance of Puerto Rico debt year-to-date, in my opinion, seems to evidence the market’s awareness and hope for this effort.
Chart source: FactSet as of 1/28/13.
James Colby is a portfolio manager and senior municipal strategist at Market Vectors ETFs.
*Based on the Barclays Municipal High Yield Bond Index, which is considered representative of the broad market for below investment-grade, tax-exempt bonds with a maturity of at least one year.
**Based on the Barclays Municipal Bond Index, which is considered representative of the broad market for investment-grade, tax-exempt bonds with a maturity of at least one year. The Barclays Puerto Rico Municipal Bond Index is a subset of this broader index.