Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:54:53 -0600
From: "Mark Freeland" 
Newsgroups: misc.invest.financial-plan
Subject: Re: How to select individual bonds for purchase?
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	NIeKbsRyz3KytmRtoMj3uqCZKK4kC1juJhcVBiSXmDqX4xaszzPeLA==
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 wrote in message 
news:1171233912.413729.174710@h3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> In the absence of taxes, one should buy or sell a stock based on its
> expected return as of today, which does NOT depend on the price
> originally paid. Someone who does not understand this basic principle
> of investing should not be advising others. In a taxable account,
> other things being equal, it usually makes more sense to sell stock on
> which one has losses.

This is true of any security, not just stocks.  Specifically, since this 
thread is about bonds, one should mark to market, and not rely on face 
value.  That gives the investor an accurate sense of the value of the 
investment, with which one can take appropriate action and not blithely hold 
to maturity.

I've done the occasional bond swap, because  yield curves do not move in 
tandem - different parts of the curve move differently, and different curves 
(different grades, different types of bonds) also move differently. 
Fortunately, I'm working with a broker who keeps an eye out for this kind of 
opportunity.

Page describing swaps - what they are, why one would consider them, when one 
would consider them, etc:
http://www.investinginbonds.com/learnmore.asp?catid=4&id=390

Mark Freeland
BnetOnewsX@sbcglobal.net