The broad appeal of municipal bonds to income investors has always been their exemption from federal tax and, in some cases, state and local taxes. Recent national tax developments which subject 77 percent of U.S. households to higher levies make municipal bonds look all the more attractive. States and municipalities are expected, per average estimates, to issue $386 billion worth of bonds in 2013, up more than 9 percent on the previous year. In 2012, tax-exempts earned 7.3 percent, a 330 percent advantage over Treasuries. Despite these impressive rewards, some have legitimate doubts about continued gains.

Bill Gross, co-founder of bond fund giant PIMCO, recently revealed his firm is in a holding pattern over municipal bonds. Though PIMCO had more than doubled its municipal debt holdings in the third quarter, Gross indicated he would not be a buyer until the "cloud" over proposed limits to

Without fertilizer, the world as we know it would not exist. Increasing population and decreasing arable land have helped make fertilizer a critical component of modern civilization. It is with this in mind that leads investors to examine fertilizer producers as a viable, income generating possibility. Consider the following three companies.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (POT), by far the largest of the three with a market capital of $35.6 billion, produces and markets fertilizers and feed products in the U.S. and Canada. A potash miner founded in 1953, its emphasis is on solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers, but has substantial interests in nitrogen fertilizers and feed. Potash Corp. has considerable development claims in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Recently, the company slowed production on account of high inventories, but it still expects demand to increase by an eighth in 2013.

Rentech Nitrogen Partners (RNF) is a smaller-capital producer of

According to the analysts discussed herein, copper's weakness in 2012 is not likely to be repeated. Goldman Sachs, RBC Capital and BNP Paribas anticipate improvements in Chinese construction, U.S. housing and development in emerging economies will boost copper prices. Morgan Stanley wrote of strength in China's power infrastructure and projected increases in appliance and auto production that will keep demand high. According to official estimates by Antaike, demand is likely to recover in 2013 because of recently-announced infrastructure projects in China.

Goldman's forecast of $3.62 per pound copper by April and $4.08 by July were tempered by others recognizing high inventories. Barclays expects copper prices to average $3.59 in 2013 on account of high stockpiles in China and increased mine supply. They noted higher prices will be difficult to sustain without consistently stronger Chinese demand. Commerzbank observed that moderate inflation

Almost two years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, uranium miners are still struggling. Spot prices for uranium are less than a third of their 2007 highs while volumes have been dismal. Power generators have sufficient near-term inventories and a jump in the spot price can't be anticipated any time soon. Reaction to Fukushima has sparked a backlash against nuclear power, with Germany planning to phase out all of its nuclear generators by 2022, and France debating a measure to close 24 reactors by 2025. But even in this environment, the future of uranium is not all bleak and opportunities exist for long-term growth.

The World Nuclear Association reports that 65 reactors worldwide are presently under construction, with an additional 485 either planned or proposed. Most of that development is from China, India and Russia, which combined are building 46 new reactors with a staggering 273 plants planned

True to form, Bolivian President Evo Morales on Saturday nationalized two electric distribution companies, Electropaz and Elfeo, owned by Spanish utility Iberdrola. Since 2006, Morales has by decree nationalized energy, mining, communications and power generation companies in his bid to shake off European and American influence in Bolivia. This latest manifestation of resource nationalism is hardly surprising, with previous asset seizures affecting France's GDF Suez, U.K.-based Rurelec and Spain's Red Electrica. Remaining foreign mining interests were put on notice in June 2012, when commodity giant Glencore, through subsidiaries, lost tin and zinc assets. Morales, who marked the summer solstice by sailing across Lake Titicaca in a reed ship, announced recently the beginning of a new era of peace and love.

Risk consultants Maplecroft classified Bolivia, along with Venezuela, Guinea, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as extreme risks in terms of resource nationalism. Bolivia has

When it comes to assessing mining equities, some analysts often cite low P/E valuations as positive, without explaining why they are low. While standard metrics can be useful, the jurisdictions of miners' operations is increasingly important to a comprehensive analysis. Resource nationalism, the tendency of states to assert control over their domestic natural resources, is seen as a growing trend for 2013.

A recent study by Maplecroft, a risk management consultancy, ranks nations in their potential for resource nationalism. Speaking to the Financial Times, Associate Director James Smither explained that this trend does not necessarily have to come in the form of outright expropriation. Increasingly, governments have employed more "subtle measures," he said, those which are easier for politicians to defend and harder for companies to oppose. The imposition of increased royalties and taxes and stringent requirements for local procurement of labor and services all qualify as manifestations

With slower-trending indicators from Australia, including sluggish retail sales, falling company profits, continued manufacturing contraction and diminishing job demand, the Reserve Bank of Australia, RBA, responded to calls from industry, finance and some media to lower interest rates. Lackluster data and frustration with zero-interest rate policy (ZIRP) of the worlds' largest central banks, led to a recent modest quarter-point cash rate cut to 3.0%. While recognizing that Australia is at or near the peak of its mining boom, "the highest such peak in at least a century", RBA Governor Glenn Stevens has taken great pains recently to explain why the RBA is not about to join its larger counterparts in devaluing its currency, the Australian dollar (AUD).

In recent speeches and a rare interview, Stevens maintained that it would be costly to attempt active measures to drive down the exchange rate,

Incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's demands for open-ended central bank easing have seen the yen down over 5 percent against the U.S. dollar since mid-November. Abe and his supporters, including the influential Chamber of Commerce and Industry, insist that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is doing too little to end Japan's crippling deflation. In the past decade, consumer prices excluding food have fallen on average 0.2 percent monthly. Weak demand from the EU and China has driven exports lower for six consecutive months. His solution to reviving Japan's export-driven economy is simple: devalue the yen.

He warned that unless the BOJ raises its inflation target to 2 percent at its January meeting, the bank's charter would be revised to accommodate the parliament's will. Despite the latest expansion by the BOJ in asset-purchases, Governor Masaaki Shirakawa declined to double the central bank's 1 percent inflation target. Shirakawa

Long the darling of emerging market bulls, Brazil is now struggling to cope with slowing global growth, particularly from the slacking demand of China for its resources. But in the midst of this, the South American nation seems to have overextended itself in terms of credit expansion and public indebtedness. Brazil's lunge forward might have to reconcile with a step or two backwards.

Since 2006, the Brazilian Treasury has flooded its government-controlled banks with over $390 billion. This will continue, as finance minister Guido Mantega announced the release of an additional $100 billion in 2013 to BNDES, Brazil's development bank.

Mantega, former chairman of that bank and long-time Workers' Party functionary, has largely been responsible for these transfers. A self-styled "social-developmentalist" and reputed to have coined the phrase "currency wars," Mantega holds no punches. Appointed by former-President Lula da Silva, he has been a vocal critic

At the African National Congress (ANC) national conference in Bloemfontein this week, policy makers decided to exclude provisions for nationalizing mines from party documents. Instead, the world's fifth-largest gold producer compromised with more radical party elements and agreed to impose greater taxes on mining companies. The ANC previously hasn't had an official position on nationalizing mines, but supporters have remained active since the end of Apartheid.

With a backdrop of deadly labor disputes, state involvement in the mining sector, and relentless calls for nationalization among some factions, many foreign miners have elected to dig elsewhere. Canadian gold miners, for example, have found better opportunities in places like Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal. A threat of new taxes could hinder investment by foreign companies in South Africa, which already has lost ground to the likes of Nigeria and Angola. To make matters worse, Moody's and S&P have downgraded South

December has been a good month for being short U.S. Treasuries. True to form, whenever bonds take extended losses, talk of the end of the bond bull invariably emerges. But the buyer of last resort might say otherwise.

Guardians of the bond bull, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), decided earlier in December to add $45 billion in monthly unsterilized Treasury purchases to the $40 billion program to buy mortgage-backed securities. Chairman Ben Bernanke revealed that the Fed will continue the purchases until unemployment falls to 6.5%, which the Fed estimates will be in 30 months.

The composition of the U.S. legislative bodies lends favor to continued easing. It is politically expedient to be seen as "doing something" about the economy, namely to urge the central banks to increase their balance sheets. When Senator Chuck Schumer implored Bernanke, "Get to work, Mr. Chairman," it was a clear signal

As with the bourses of other eurozone members, the Spanish markets continue their exuberance. The Ibex 35 is at levels not seen since March, up over 38 percent since its July lows. Government bond yields have continued to fall since July and are approaching their lows of the year. This is despite the facts that its financial system is insolvent, its housing market is in shambles and social upheaval is the new normal. Trash collection is sporadic in some regions, government salaries to workers like bus drivers and health-care attendants are not always paid, and, with youth unemployment over 50 percent, riots might become a permanent urban fixture. The comedy that is Spain might be funny if it wasn't all too real.

Recent data suggest that fallout from the housing bubble is still accumulating. The Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that house prices fell by an average of

The tepid response of commodities following the latest FOMC release can be viewed as bearish for the general complex. Federal Reserve easing has usually precipitated greater positive action in the commodities complex. This time, it might be different. Commodities have dropped below their post-August FOMC highs, and without macro data to suggest that global demand will accelerate in the coming months, it appears unlikely that positive momentum will be generated going into the new year.

The conventional wisdom of opening positions in commodities as a hedge against the U.S. Dollar (USD) has recently been ineffective to a large degree. The decline in the Japanese Yen (JPY) and the ongoing Euro Zone crisis have buffered the Dollar against further decline. General entry into long commodity positions, with certain exceptions, might be premature at this time.

Broad Commodities Basket - DBC

Examining the more liquid commodity ETFs, there is little to suggest