By Gayl Mileszko
Maximize Yield, Minimize Waste
If not several times a day during such volatile trading days as these, then at least once a month or so, we peer at our investment portfolios and wonder what we can do to protect principal and improve returns, yields or both. Normally, we would work to make adjustments to holdings through our broker or investment adviser during core financial market trading hours. But sometimes we want to make those changes right away. Treasury, corporate, and municipal bond markets as well as major currency and commodity markets are basically open around the clock, although there is typically much less liquidity after normal sessions. And cryptocurrency investors have long been accustomed to trading tokens 24/7. There is now a move underway to extend the hours for everything else. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first extended trading hours for stocks last November. The NYSE was approved to run trading from 1:30am to 11:30pm ET, and the Nasdaq is now looking for approval to begin 24/7 trading 5 days a week starting in late 2026. It may take more than a year to get through all the regulatory approvals but it seems likely that there will soon be round-the-clock trading in everything. Settlement times are compressing as well. We are moving faster and faster on all fronts, seeking quick rewards, shopping anytime for anything we want, over paying, buying too much, dumping it instead of repairing it, losing patience and perspective, the ability to set or achieve long term goals. Sometimes our desire for instant gratification can lead to instant regret.
Example: Food Waste
Our impulse society and our culture of excess are generating extraordinary waste. Food waste is just one example. We each throw away about 290 pounds of food per year, a fifth of all food produced, roughly equivalent to one percent of America’s GDP. Sadly, about 68 percent of that food is edible. Think about all that lettuce and fruit, all those takeout leftovers. Forty percent of all the food grown and produced here each year is never eaten – it was not pretty enough, was not refrigerated in time, came in oversized portions, had early expiration dates, or came in damaged packaging. Grocery stores toss about 30 percent of the food on their shelves into the garbage bin, 16 billion pounds worth or more, every year. Our forebears, especially those who starved during the Great Depression, would be shocked and call this, among other things, sinful.
Solution: Agrihoods?
The number of American farms peaked at 6.8 million in 1935. Today, although there are 1.88 million farms and about 45% of our 2.26 billion acres is agricultural, farm and ranch families comprise less than 2% of the population. Many of us have never met a farm family as we live too far away from the places where our food is grown. And, with all of the subsidized overproduction, processing, warehousing, trucking, mismanaged inventory, and spoilage, we are many more steps distanced from, and much less appreciative of, the sources of our sustenance. There are, however, an increasing number of “agrihoods” or agricultural neighborhoods offering everything from large working farms to small community gardens. They integrate agriculture into residential landscapes, facilitating food production, fostering recreation, community connections and farm-to-table lifestyles. Whereas most master planned communities incorporate yacht clubs or golf courses, some are attracting new residents with working organic farms that promote healthful living. Professionals tend to the land with the help of volunteers, and sell the produce locally. Examples include Agritopia in Phoenix, Willowsford in Ashburn, Virginia, South Village in Champlain Valley, Vermont and Kukui’ula in Kauai.
Getting Young and Old Hands Dirty
Young and young-at-heart generations are who believe that access to fresh and healthy foods is a priority are learning– or re-learning– how to grow their own food, and work closely with others to grow their own food, create new recipes, and share tables offering healthy meals. At Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake, Illinois, students are learning about healthy eating and sustainable agriculture through hand-on experiences in the school’s gardens and local farms. Kids at Bellevue Sante Fe Charter School in San Luis Obispo, California learn about ecology and biology in the garden as the participate in all stages of growing food. Avon Grove Charter School in West Grove, Pennsylvania, features a micro-farm greenhouse producing food for use in the cafeteria and for donation to local food bank. At the other end of the age and wisdom spectrum, residents in many retirement communities are also thrilled to volunteer their time and energy to work to improve their lives by helping with beehives, herb and vegetable gardens to upgrade their dining rooms and support neighboring food banks. Cornwall Manor in central Pennsylvania is proud of the volunteers toiling on its two-acre Trailside Organic Vegetable Farm. With the help of its volunteer residents, the campus farm at Covenant Woods in Mechanicsville, Virginia produces up to 30 percent of the vegetables, berries, figs and herbs used in its restaurants, and donates a portion to its local church group pantry. We welcome updates from readers on other examples of how you are inspiring young and old Americans alike with your health- and earth-friendly programs.
Major Waste – On Top of Fraud and Abuse
The headlines are full of DOGE-reported examples of waste, fraud and abuse in government programs and contracts. No one on Main Street or Wall Street is surprised by anything, even the size, scope and extent of the revelations. But can this tech-led SWAT team really find $1 trillion or $2 trillion of savings to contribute to deficit reduction and tax cuts this year? At this writing, they so far claim $140 billion of savings through asset sales, contract cancelations, improper payment deletions, cancellations of ridiculous grants, workforce reductions, and other measures. In general, these unprecedented efforts to scrutinize and audit the US budget are met with great cheer. Many grossly overpaid universities, consultants, and congressional earmark beneficiaries are now being revealed for the first time. However, the economy will undoubtedly be impacted by any significant reductions in federal spending and government jobs underway. The Trump Administration anticipates that that any possible economic pain will be cured or offset by the imposition of tariffs to soon take effect, new efficiencies and reduced regulations, and the explosive domestic growth to ensue. Main Street is hopeful but concerned. Financial markets are volatile, unsure as to where safe havens truly are, where allies stand, what new upsets are to be rolled out, and how the markets will react and adjust after Wednesday’s 4:00 presser.
Economic Detox
Consumer sentiment is dropping rapidly as fears of inflation rise amid worries that something akin to an intentionally induced recession is in the works in order to produce central bank rate cuts, kill inflation and reset an economy that has been fueled by fiscal stimulus for almost as long as we can remember. As the USA heads into a celebration of its 250th birthday, the new Treasury Secretary suggests that our economy needs a “detox”. Yikes. How will the details of a detox impact the voter mandate from 2024 going into 2026 mid-terms? Everything here and abroad feels on edge right now. There is a general flight to safety on the part of investors as the first quarter comes to a close, many portfolios are repositioned, markets brace for new fiscal and monetary policy changes, and we await the international response to our new tariff policies. With all that in the background, we wonder about how this week’s seven Treasury auctions will be received and how Jay Powell’s speech after the March jobs data on Friday is announced will impact markets already reacting to the results of Tuesday’s Congressional races, the big meetings underway in Warsaw and Moscow, and of course the tariffs.
Flight to Safety
Investors now have a staggering $7.01 trillion tucked away in money market funds. Gold prices at this writing are at an all-time high of $3,133 an ounce as Moody’s, the last major rating agency to give the USA a triple-A rating, sounded another alarm on our nation’s fiscal picture. Growing debt problems are clearly not limited to the US but extend across all the major economies. But here, Tax Day on April 15 approaches and the Congress begins to address tax and spending policy differences. All kinds of portfolio sales and readjustments are underway. So far this year, gold, silver, steel, natural gas, and copper are outperforming all other assets. In the fixed income world, US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities are reporting the best returns so far, followed by high grade corporate bonds. Taxable municipal bonds and high yield munis are best in class while investment grade munis are down and stock indices are down across the board.
Grand Opportunities
This week’s municipal bond calendar is expected to exceed $10 billion. So far in 2025, we are seeing issuance 20% above 2024 levels. Bid-wanted par has been at unusually high levels and net fund flows have been negative for three straight weeks. Our traders have made some rare finds amidst all this activity so please contact your HJ Sims representative for the most attractive offerings. On a net basis so far this year, high yield muni funds have found many unique buying opportunities and have taken in $4.2 billion of the $5.74 billion total invested in conventional bond funds and exchange traded funds combined. And on Tuesday, April 1, $18.7 billion of principal and interest payments were made to muni bondholders. Another $6.1 billion will be booked later this month, all available for reinvestment. Last week, we saw an $11.2 million non-rated Maricopa Industrial Development Authority bond with a 10-year maturity for Heritage Academy price with a 6.38% coupon at par. At this writing the 10-year municipal AAA rated general obligation tax-exempt bond benchmark yield stands at 3.21% versus the comparable treasury at 4.20% and the 30-year muni benchmark at 4.19% stands just 37 basis points shy of the comparable Treasury yield at 4.56%. There is much debate underway on the future of municipal bond tax-exemption, so we welcome you to engage with us on the best ways to advocate for its preservation. For prospective borrowers, we welcome your inquiries on how to take best advantage of these exceptional market conditions.