If you didn't max out your individual retirement arrangement (IRA) in 2025, you still have a few days left to contribute. Workers have until their tax deadline, April 15, to add prior-year contributions to their IRA. And some married couples may be able to contribute more to IRAs than they thought, thanks to spousal IRA rules. A spousal IRA is an IRA established for a non-working spouse. Normally,...
If you didn't max out your individual retirement arrangement (IRA) in 2025, you still have a few days left to contribute. Workers have until their tax deadline, April 15, to add prior-year contributions to their IRA. And some married couples may be able to contribute more to IRAs than they thought, thanks to spousal IRA rules. A spousal IRA is an IRA established for a non-working spouse. Normally, you must have earned income to contribute to an IRA. With a spousal IRA, the IRS allows one spouse to contribute to both their own and their partner's IRAs, as long as they've earned enough to cover both contributions. Opening an IRA for yourself or your spouse is fast, easy, and free. Check out our list of the best IRA brokers to get started before Tax Day . There are just a few important rules you need to be aware of if you're thinking of taking advantage of a spousal IRA. Continue reading
Mohamad Faizal Bin Ramli/iStock via Getty Images High-yield munis offer tax-exempt income, historically lower default rates than corporate high yield, and distinct sector exposure. Here's what defines this asset class. What Is a High-Yield Municipal Bond? A high-yield municipal bond is a tax-exempt debt security issued by a state, county, municipality, or special-purpose entity that carries a cred...
Mohamad Faizal Bin Ramli/iStock via Getty Images High-yield munis offer tax-exempt income, historically lower default rates than corporate high yield, and distinct sector exposure. Here's what defines this asset class. What Is a High-Yield Municipal Bond? A high-yield municipal bond is a tax-exempt debt security issued by a state, county, municipality, or special-purpose entity that carries a credit rating below investment grade, or no credit rating at all. These bonds fund public projects and infrastructure but compensate investors with higher interest payments for taking on additional credit risk. The muni high-yield market is considerably smaller than its corporate counterpart, with thousands of small, project-specific issuances spread across a fragmented landscape. That complexity also creates opportunities for investors who can navigate it. What Credit Rating Makes a Municipal Bond “High Yield”? The standard dividing line is BBB-; anything rated below that, or BB+ and lower, is considered high yield, or “speculative”. In the municipal market, however, definitions can blur. Limited supply of lower-rated bonds has led some participants to include a modest allocation to BBB-rated securities in high-yield benchmarks. We take a stricter view and define high yield munis as those rated BB+ and below, along with unrated securities. A large share of high-yield munis carry no rating at all. Some issuers forgo ratings because the cost does not justify the issue size, while others simply would not qualify for investment grade. As a result, unrated bonds can represent a significant portion of the market, making independent credit analysis essential. It’s worth noting that “unrated” does not automatically mean “low quality”. In many cases, a well-known issuer with an established track record will skip the rating process because market participants already understand the credit. The issuer’s bonds trade on reputation and fundamentals rather than a letter grade. In some instan...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to evaluate the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF ( EZU ) as an investment option at its current market price. This fund has an objective to track an index "composed of large and mid-cap equities from developed market countries that use the Euro as their official currency". I started a position in this ETF ...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to evaluate the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF ( EZU ) as an investment option at its current market price. This fund has an objective to track an index "composed of large and mid-cap equities from developed market countries that use the Euro as their official currency". I started a position in this ETF when 2026 got underway, primarily because it is a more diversified fund than my other European holdings, with 224 companies in its portfolio. As noted, I was a bull on Europe when the year began and via EZU in particular. This article was posted in early January for reference: Prior Review (EZU) (Seeking Alpha) While we have certainly seen our share of ups and downs thus far in 2026, readers may be surprised to learn that the major indices (and EZU) are pretty close to flat year-to-date. However, European shares have beaten out both the S&P 500 and the "world", which means we have gotten some slight "alpha" with this investment option: YTD Performance (EZU, S&P 500, VT) (Google Finance) In my view it is important to take a measured look at the market right now and try to tune out some of the noise that is rattling investors. Being aware of macro-events like the Iran war can be useful, but it can also distract from fundamentals and cause retail investors to make ill-timed decisions. For me, I see volatility and panic selling as a time to buy, not sell, but I want to be strategic when I do so. This leads me to EZU, as I continue to see this is a viable option for those wanting developed market, but non-US, exposure. In this light I will use this review to explain why I remain bullish on this ETF. Europe Has The Value Edge One of the key reasons I have considered European shares for a while now - and still do - has to do with valuation. While it is not realistic to call the current valuation "cheap", what really matters to me is relativity. Through this lens we can see that th...
(RTTNews) - A day after recording an impressive surge thanks to news about the U.S. and Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire, French stocks fell on Thursday as investors turned cautious amid uncertainty about the warring countries honoring the truce deal.
(RTTNews) - A day after recording an impressive surge thanks to news about the U.S. and Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire, French stocks fell on Thursday as investors turned cautious amid uncertainty about the warring countries honoring the truce deal.