Puerto Rick is a hurricane magnet. After the last one, power was out for 928,000 residents. The island has many diesel power generators. A tanker full of diesel was moored off the coast. But it wasn’t allowed to dock. Why? The Jones Act. Continue Reading →
Puerto Rico faces many of the same economic problems as Greece: high external government debt, locked into a common currency with other countries, and an ultimatum from those other countries Continue Reading →
A New England Journal of Medicine paper implies that 4,645 Puerto Ricans may have died because of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Using the actual number of deaths my best guess Continue Reading →
Over the years we’ve repeatedly seen municipal bankruptcies, the state of Illinois virtually broke, and Puerto Rico’s finances under control of an outside board. All these events have one common factor: cities, states, and now one territory that have been run by the Democratic party. Truly the party of financial irresponsibility. Continue Reading →
These bonds are CUSIP 74514LE86. The bonds are Puerto Rico Commonwealth Series A maturing July 1, 2035. Take a deep breath. Those are 20 year bonds. The Commonwealth unloaded $3.5 billion of these with a hefty 8 percent coupon according to EMMA. But, as we all know, a bond is nothing more than a promise to make one or more future payments on specified dates. The quality of that promise is reflected in the yield to maturity, not the coupon yield. Continue Reading →
Don’t buy Chicago bonds. Unless your net worth is at least $1 billion, don’t buy Puerto Rico bonds. Scrutinize the holdings of any bond funds in which you own an interest. Continue Reading →
Today Megan McArdle pointed me to a piece on Puerto Rico by Matt Levine. I won’t even try to sommarize it. Instead, just click here. Continue Reading →
This is all very well and good, but it really doesn’t change my original analysis. If anything, it provides additional circumstantial evidence supporting my hypothesis: Puerto Rico really did get away with it. Continue Reading →