MuniLand

America’s most vital economic statistic: the price of gas. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Good Links

The Fiscal Times: Deep defense cuts are unlikely

Bloomberg: U.S. accounting regulators want state and local governments to open the kimono

24/7: Least populated states deemed healthiest

Bloomberg: Prediction: 2011 muni defaults could hit a record $20 billion

Christian Science Monitor: New York to raise taxes on the rich. Is it a blueprint for Congress?

All Things D: More muniland tax losses: Amazon to pay shoppers $5 to walk out of stores empty-handed

Blackrock: Ready to cast off fixed-income constraints?

Bloomberg: Municipal bonds rallied, pushing 10-yr yields to the lowest since Sept.

@Twitter Talk

@sethdmichaels sethdmichaels   Meanwhile, the AGs of California and Nevada are launching a joint foreclosure-fraud investigation: bit.ly/sef8Zb

@StatesAndCities Bloomberg State/Muni   Michigan Lets Prisoners Go—and Saves a Bundle:  ow.ly/7MsLs

@Govistics Govistics by CGR  California, Wisconsin, New Jersey – all are experiencing bigger-than-ever increases in # of public employees retiring.  j.mp/tqinvd

@CJSettles Craig Settles   47 western Mass towns said “we’ll band together, create our own broadband. Their story on Gigabit Nation bit.ly/tbCHut

@coopnytimes Michael Cooper  When I visited Vermont after Irene, the damage seemed insurmountable. @jswatz finds they are surmounting it:  nyti.ms/seUFRA

@nysnysnews Kyle Hughes  Editorials: Cuomo tax deal gets yea from NYDN, nay from Post/WSJ, feh from NYT. ‘That’s not the way to run a govt.’

@JimWarner785 jim warner   Oh boy..those of us in industry used to swear Tony Soprano was just fiction! Mob in Waste industry in NJ bit.ly/rWjjnk

@GreeneBarrett Barrett and Greene  Park area as % of land area in US cities: NYC =19.5% Boston =15.8% Baltimore =9.5% Miami =5.2% ow.ly/7PZWj