Lebenthal On Munis: Straight Talk About Tax-Free Municipal Bonds for the Troubled Investor Deciding "Yes...or No!" [Paperback]

Jim Lebenthal (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1600376568 | ISBN-13: 978-1600376566 | Publication Date: October 1, 2009

IF YOU KNEW WHAT I KNOW...
Would you buy a municipal bond for the subways in New York City that’s rated AA-, or only A?
Would you care what a bond is for as long, as it’s a general obligation backed by the issuer’s full faith, credit, and taxing power?
Would you pay 109 for a bond, a premium of $90 for every $1,000 face value, knowing you’re going to get back only $1,000 at the end??Would it be crazy to buy a 30-year bond at age 80?
Would you read “these bonds are not a debt of the state” as a fair warning, Buyer Beware??Tax free municipal bonds.  Would you buy them at all?
STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE MAN WHO PUT MUNIS  ON THE MAP FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR.
Would telling you the whole story about investing in municipal bonds, and  making sure you know the risks involved, kill the sale?  “I’ll take my chances,” says Jim (Municipal Bonds Are My Babies) Lebenthal.
 For 45 years, Jim Lebenthal wrote and starred in the Lebenthal family’s municipal bond business commercials -  information nuggets that educated the public and turned munis into a household word, wherever his face and voice were seen and heard.
Outraged by what Wall Street had done to the financial markets with reckless abandon, and Bernie Madoff with malice aforethought, Jim gives equal time in Lebenthal On Munis…Deciding, "Yes…" or "No!" to the Whys and Why Nots for investing in his "babies."
"Balancing the heady appeal of tax exemption with the payment record of municipal bonds in the Depression and the volatility of resale prices during the inflation tortured '70s and '80s, isn’t optional for a broker," says Lebenthal.  "Full Disclosure is the law."
In Lebenthal on Munis, Jim carries out that law, even if Full Disclosure means turning Jim and his babies, thumbs down.
DECIDING, "YES…" OR "NO!"

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lebenthal on Munis is indispensible manual for anyone who is about to buy municipal bonds and for the brokers who are out to sell them. It wouldn’t hurt the mayors and governors, either, to know what the man who put munis on the map is saying about the one tool they have for rebuilding our cities and states.
Hon. Brendan T. Byrne, Governor of New Jersey, 1974 - 82
 

Book Description

STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE MAN WHO PUT MUNIS ON THE MAP FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR.
Would telling you the whole story about investing in municipal bonds, and  making sure you know the risks involved, kill the sale? "I’ll take my chances," says Jim (Municipal Bonds Are My Babies) Lebenthal.
For 45 years, Jim Lebenthal wrote and starred in the Lebenthal family’s municipal bond business commercials--information nuggets that educated the public and turned munis into a household word, wherever his face and voice were seen and heard.
Outraged by what Wall Street had done to the financial markets with reckless abandon, and Bernie Madoff with malice aforethought, Jim gives equal time in Lebenthal On Munis…Deciding, "Yes.." or "No!" to the Whys and Why Nots for investing in his "babies."
"Balancing the heady appeal of tax exemption with the payment record of municipal bonds in the Depression and the volatility of resale prices during the inflation tortured '70s and '80s, isn’t optional for a broker," says Lebenthal. "Full Disclosure is the law."
In Lebenthal on Munis, Jim carries out that law, even if Full Disclosure means turning Jim and his babies, thumbs down. DECIDING, "YES…" OR "NO!"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600376568
• ISBN-13: 978-1600376566
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #902,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic Muni Bond primer., January 4, 2010

By 

richard viola (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lebenthal On Munis: Straight Talk About Tax-Free Municipal Bonds for the Troubled Investor Deciding "Yes...or No!" (Paperback)

I liked this book on Muni's. It's basic information that every Muni bond investor should know before putting money into this type of investment.
It gives you the information that is not readily available without digging into verbage most people don't really understand unless they are bond salesmen.
It describes in detail exactly how you are protected when you buy these bonds and names the agencies and what their responsibilities are to investors.
It's more of a muni buyers guide to making your own decisions or letting a fund manager do it for you and paying for those services.
I have invested in muni's for over twenty years and I still learned things I was unaware of from this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good information, January 4, 2010

By 

Andrew (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lebenthal On Munis: Straight Talk About Tax-Free Municipal Bonds for the Troubled Investor Deciding "Yes...or No!" (Paperback)

Jim is a master of the soft sell. And this book is a marketing piece, but there is a lot of good information here. Excellent discussion of risk in bonds. Jim never tells you how to buy bonds yourself, of course, since he wants you to use his company.

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy read--Good primer on Bonds, August 31, 2010

By 

Laurelbridge (Upstate, New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lebenthal On Munis: Straight Talk About Tax-Free Municipal Bonds for the Troubled Investor Deciding "Yes...or No!" (Paperback)

A short well done review of Muni Bonds....How, when, to buy. Risk vs reward, etc. A good primer