Guam : My Favorite Accessory

Everyone has their favorites. It could be sunglasses, shoes, sweaters, or dresses, everyone has certain preferences for specific items, whether it be attire, brands, or bonds. With brands we love what we think makes us look and therefore feel best and it's the same with bonds. We buy what makes us feel secure with the best rate we can get. Personally when it comes to accessories, whether it be shoes or bags, Miu Miu is hands down my favorite. While this may not be for everyone, seeing as most women would choose Christian Loubouton or Manolo Blahnik for their favorite shoes, for years Miu Miu has been my favorite for their style and comfort. That being said, for the past couple years Guam has been my favorite bond. Below are the reasons why. While Guam may not be the style (bond) you're looking for due to various personal perferences (rating being the main one), we all walk in and carry our own favorites and this is as they say, what makes a croc er, horse race.

Guam is a territory of the United States. It was originally part of Spain, when the US won it over in 1898. It remained a US Territory until 1941 when shortly after Pearl Harbor, Japan took it over for a little longer than 2 years that was a devastating time for the people living there. In 1944 the US took it back over and it has remained a US territory ever since. Due to it's dramatic history, a Guam general obligation is rated B+ (recently upgraded from B). The highest rated type of Guam bond is their Power Revenue bonds which are rated Ba1 by Moodys and BBB- by S&P.

Guam's main source of income is tourism from people living in Japan that use it as a vacation spot similarly to how people in the US visit Hawaii. It's second largest source of income is from the US Government. Recently the amount of money the United States is putting into Guam has really jumped. The Japanese civilians have grown tired of our marine bases in Okinawa seeing as there have been numerous incidents of servicemen committing crimes. So our entire marine base that is in Okinawa is now moving to Guam. That being said, there is a lot of constuction creating housing for the servicemen moving there. The government has also put a huge amount of money into the Ports in Guam. Over the past year it's no secret that US employment has taken a nose dive. This is true for everywhere except Guam. Guam is currently hiring in case anyone is looking for a climate change. As far as the Guam Airport is concerned, money goes directly from the US Government to the Guam Airport seeing as it is currently the only way on and off the island. Aside from all the constuction that has been taking place along with the funds going to Guam, it's location is such an important place for the US to be right now. It is the closest base we have on US soil to China and the Middle East. The more our world becomes a global community, the more important it will be for the US to have easy access to our neighbors.

If you are a conservative buyer I would not suggest Guam. It's rating will probably bother you. But if you are looking for a good buy and the facts make sense to you as oppose to the bonds rating (which doesn't make much sense to me) it's a bond to take advantage of. It's almost like getting a great pair of Miu Miu shoes at an outlet; just because someone else didn't want them doesn't mean that they wouldn't be great for you! The fact that someone else didn't want the shoes (bonds) makes the price just about as pretty as what you're buying!