FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images Welcome to another installment of our Preferreds Market Weekly Review, where we discuss preferred stock and baby bond market activity from both the bottom-up, highlighting individual news and events, as well as top-down, providing an overview of the broader market. We also try to add some historical context as well as relevant themes that look to be driving market...
FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images Welcome to another installment of our Preferreds Market Weekly Review, where we discuss preferred stock and baby bond market activity from both the bottom-up, highlighting individual news and events, as well as top-down, providing an overview of the broader market. We also try to add some historical context as well as relevant themes that look to be driving markets or that investors ought to be mindful of. This update covers the period through the third week of March. Be sure to check out our other weekly updates covering the business development company ("BDC") as well as the closed-end fund ("CEF") markets for perspectives across the broader income space. Market Action Preferreds were down on the week and month. Credit spreads across different sectors, including preferreds, widened over the past month, which, together with rising Treasury yields, created a drag on returns. Preferreds spreads remain relatively tight in the context of the last five years or so. ICE As a result of rising Treasury yields and wider credit spreads, preferreds yields have risen close to their post-2024 high level. Systematic Income Preferreds Tool Market Commentary CLO CEF EIC launched a public offering of its Series AA and AB convertible perpetual preferreds with coupons of 6%, replacing their exchange-traded term Series C and Series B preferreds. It doesn’t appear that the new preferreds will trade on an exchange, unfortunately, though it’s not a big loss given the coupons are not at all appealing. Perpetual preferreds are much less appealing than term preferreds because there is no obligation for the issuer to repay "par". Both interest rate and credit curves are upward sloping, so, all else equal, a perpetual preferred would enjoy a higher coupon than a term preferred, which is not what we are seeing with these convertible perpetual preferreds. The low coupon may be explained by the conversion option; however, EIC is not exactly a growth stock, so th...
President Donald Trump said that Iran “gave” the US most of the 15 demands it sent to Tehran as a plan for an end to the war, even as it remains unclear whether either side is really negotiating. “They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn’t they?” he told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. (Source: Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump said that Iran “gave” the US most of the 15 demands it sent to Tehran as a plan for an end to the war, even as it remains unclear whether either side is really negotiating. “They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn’t they?” he told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. (Source: Bloomberg)
Google (GOOGL) just gave Wall Street a reason to rethink the biggest AI trade available. Alphabet’s Google Research said earlier in March that it had developed a new family of compression algorithms, TurboQuant, PolarQuant and Quantized Johnson-Lindenstrauss, or QJL. What is the point of all of ...
Google (GOOGL) just gave Wall Street a reason to rethink the biggest AI trade available. Alphabet’s Google Research said earlier in March that it had developed a new family of compression algorithms, TurboQuant, PolarQuant and Quantized Johnson-Lindenstrauss, or QJL. What is the point of all of ...
US To Let Russian Oil Tanker Deliver Fuel To Cuba: Report A week after Russian tankers loaded with fuel for Cuba were diverted due to a months-long US oil blockade, the US Coast Guard is permitting a Russian vessel carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil to reach Cuba , the NY Times reports, citing an official briefed on the matter. The tanker - Anatoly Kolodkin - owned by the Russian s...
US To Let Russian Oil Tanker Deliver Fuel To Cuba: Report A week after Russian tankers loaded with fuel for Cuba were diverted due to a months-long US oil blockade, the US Coast Guard is permitting a Russian vessel carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil to reach Cuba , the NY Times reports, citing an official briefed on the matter. The tanker - Anatoly Kolodkin - owned by the Russian state-controlled shipping company Sovcomflot under U.S. sanctions since 2024 - left Primorsk, Russia on march 9, and is now expected to dock at the port of Matanzas as early as Monday night or Tuesday. This development marks a notable pause in the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign, which has included threats to third-party nations, the escorting of at least one earlier tanker away from Cuba, and recent Treasury Department measures explicitly barring Cuba from any waivers on Russian-origin oil. Despite two U.S. Coast Guard cutters positioned in the region capable of interception, no orders were issued to stop the vessel . The Coast Guard referred questions to the White House, which did not respond. The decision avoids an immediate and potentially thorny naval confrontation with Russia in the Caribbean , even as President Trump has publicly suggested military options toward Cuba. At a recent investment conference, Trump stated he believed he would have “the honor of taking Cuba” and added, “Cuba is next, by the way,” in reference to possible use of force after the Iran conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has similarly called for new leadership in Havana, stating that “Cuba’s economy can’t change unless their system of government changes.” NOW: Trump on Cuba: "Within a short period of time, it's going to fail, and we will be there to help it out." pic.twitter.com/ssPdCmDraq — Bruce Snyder (@realBruceSnyder) March 30, 2026 Temporary Relief for a Collapsing Energy Grid The arrival could buy Cuba at least a few weeks of breathing room before its fuel reserves are e...
RichVintage/E+ via Getty Images Before I get into the practical part of the article title, I want to talk about trying to buy the ultimate bottom. For some reason, many new or even somewhat practiced managers of their own portfolios are perfectionists when it comes to buying at the ultimate bottom and selling at the ultimate top. While this is a very worthy goal, humans never attain perfection in ...
RichVintage/E+ via Getty Images Before I get into the practical part of the article title, I want to talk about trying to buy the ultimate bottom. For some reason, many new or even somewhat practiced managers of their own portfolios are perfectionists when it comes to buying at the ultimate bottom and selling at the ultimate top. While this is a very worthy goal, humans never attain perfection in any endeavor. There is such an occurrence, but it is exceedingly rare, and in most of those 1 in a million cases, it is mostly happenstance when it all comes together. Perhaps in mathematics or Newtonian physics, perfection is achievable. However, in the real physical world conditions, expecting perfection is only going to cause you anxiety or worse. The same is certainly true when it comes to stock investing. Everyone is looking at their portfolio, even those with the tightest hedges, and avoiding riskier stocks; you will still have plenty of positions that are down 10% or even more. Please bear in mind that this is a moment in time, and stocks move up more than they fall. Self-remonstration is not only futile, but it is also damaging to one's peace of mind. Even worse, it will lead to poor investment decisions. Poor investment decisions will lead to increased anxiety, which in turn will only perpetuate more poor decisions. Once the conditions turn favorable or there is a hint that a favorable situation is coming, stocks will shoot higher. However, if you choose to have a longer time horizon, let's say six months or a bit more, I am pretty certain that we will see a strong recovery. And that we will see new highs that will take us above 7000, and perhaps as much as 10% higher. If you tightly hold onto the notion of doom, of severe recession, even the dread stagflation, which so many talk about but haven't actually lived through, then you might have already sold out most of your stocks. This article has come too late for you. If you are leaning in this direction, I hope thi...