Do you buy Treasury bonds or tax-free municipals?
"If your tax bracket is high and your inflation expectations low, you absolutely must own some tax-free municipal bonds," says Joseph Deane, manager of the Citi Asset Municipal Bond Fund. "Long-term tax-exempt bonds currently yield 96 percent as much as taxable Treasury bonds of the same maturity. For someone in the top tax bracket, that's a 35 percent yield premium above Treasuries."
FACTS & FIGURES: "The average salary and bonus for a mutual fund portfolio manager is $153,000." (Kiplinger's, January)
"If from age 20 to 65 you save $50 a month and get an 8 percent return - which is attainable - at age 65 you can take out $1,658 every month until age 100." ("Bottom Line Yearbook")
"The average 401(k) balance is $39,970." (CNBC-TV)
TAKE YOUR CHOICE: "The technology sector is overbought. Too much money has chased one area, creating a significant imbalance in the market." (Tim O'Grady, money manager)
"Tech stocks' price-to-earnings ratios plummeted by about 33 percent since Sept. 1. And, while most techs have not sunk to bargain-basement prices, some segments stand near the lower level of their five-year ranges." (Barron's)
"Corporate profits will rise 14 percent, and the S&P 500 will hit 1,800 by the end of 2001." (Jeffrey Applegate, investment strategist)
