Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Portfolio (ARCA: PWZ)

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Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Portfolio

PowerShares California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Portfolio

The fund generally will invest at least 80% of its total assets in municipal securities that comprise the underlying index and that also are exempt from the federal AMT. The underlying index is composed of U.S. dollar-denominated, investment grade, tax-exempt debt publicly issued by California or any U.S. territory and their political subdivisions, in the U.S. domestic market with a term of at least 15 years remaining to final maturity. It is non-diversified.

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How Large Are U.S. State Economies? This Map Shows California&#39;s Edge Over France, And More

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Puerto Rico&#39;s Debt Crisis: How It Happened And Why A $1 Billion Default Is Coming Friday

POWSZECHNY ZAKLA ORD by Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA

Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA

The fact that the United States&#39; $18 trillion economy is the largest in the world in terms of GDP is no secret. However, did you know that the state of California was the sixth largest economy in the world, with a larger GDP than France, India, Italy or Brazi?. Impressive, right?

	But, how do the rest of the country&#39;s state economies compare to other national economies?

	The <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/putting-americas-ridiculously-large-18t-economy-into-perspective-by-comparing-us-state-gdps-to-entire-countries/">American Enterprise Institute</a> recently published a map comparing the gross domestic product (GDP) of U.S. states with that of whole countries &mdash; using 2015 state-level GDP data from the <a href="http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=70&amp;step=1&amp;isuri=1&amp;acrdn=2#reqid=70&amp;step=1&amp;isuri=1">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a> (BEA) and country-level GDP data from the <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=1980&amp;ey=2015&amp;scsm=1&amp;ssd=1&amp;sort=country&amp;ds=.&amp;br=1&amp;pr1.x=18&amp;pr1.y=13&amp;c=512%2C672%2C914%2C946%2C612%2C137%2C614%2C546%2C311%2C962%2C213%2C674%2C911%2C676%2C193%2C548%2C122%2C556%2C912%2C678%2C313%2C181%2C419%2C867%2C513%2C682%2C316%2C684%2C913%2C273%2C124%2C868%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C624%2C692%2C522%2C694%2C622%2C142%2C156%2C449%252">International Monetary Fund</a>.

	<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u82070/stategdp.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u82070/stategdp.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 392px;" /></a> 
Source: AEI

	California&rsquo;s 2015 GDP is comparable to that of France, $2.46 trillion for the former versus $2.42 trillion for the latter. However, in terms of GDP per capita, California has a very large lead, as its population of roughly 38.8 million is much smaller than France&rsquo;s 66.03 million. In terms of workforce, the difference becomes smaller, but still very significant: 19 million workers for California, compared to 25 million workers for France.

	<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/08/8372661/a-rate-hike-before-the-election">A Rate Hike Before The Election?</a></bzrelatedlink>

	Second in line is Texas, with a 2015 GDP of $1.59 trillion, which would have made it the tenth largest economy in the world, ahead of countries like Canada ($1.55 trillion), Mexico or Switzerland. And, again, Canada needed 50 percent more workers (18 million) to reach the same production level as Texas.

	New York trails Texas from close behind, with a GDP of $1.44 trillion, comparable to South Korea&rsquo;s $1.38 trillion.

	Interestingly, these three states combined produced $5.5 trillion in economic output in 2015. This figure surpasses the GDP of Japan ($4.1 trillion), only falling behind China and the United States as a whole &mdash; including these three states.

	<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u82070/stategdpnew.png"><img alt="" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u82070/stategdpnew.png" style="height: 1269px; width: 600px;" /></a> 
Source: AEI

	Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you&#39;d like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email <a href="mailto:feedback@benzinga.com">feedback@benzinga.com</a> with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

	Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities&nbsp;mentioned above.

How Large Are U.S. State Economies? This Map Shows California's Edge Over France, And More

On July 1, 2016, Puerto Rico will default on more than $1 billion in general obligation bonds, the island&#39;s senior credits protected by a constitutional lien on revenues. -Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garc&iacute;a-Padilla.
On Wednesday, Garc&iacute;a-Padilla wrote an article for <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/29/puerto-ricos-governor-warns-of-imminent-default-on-more-than-1-billion-in-debt-commentary.html">CNBC</a> explaining why the commonwealth he governs will default again on Friday. &ldquo;Puerto Rico does not have the ability to repay the $70 billion debt that was generated by past administrations and their creditors. The debt must be restructured fairly and equitably to both the people of Puerto Rico and the bondholders,&rdquo; the note explained.
<h3>How Puerto Rico Got In So Deep</h3>
Puerto Rico&rsquo;s financial crisis began years ago when its government started issuing debt seeking to cover its public spending deficit &mdash; a very common practice in emerging economies. The catch here was that the municipal bonds and other debt titles were tax-exempt (some say, triple tax-exempt) for U.S. investors and paid higher yields than most other munis. So, the bonds became very popular and easy to place.
However, as corporate tax breaks on the island expired in 2006, a lot of business fled, leaving a large portion of Puerto Rico&rsquo;s population jobless and its government dealing with more than it could handle. This led it to issue even more debt.
<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/16/06/8140107/puerto-rico-being-sued-by-hedge-funds-for-dodging-payments">Puerto Rico Being Sued By Hedge Funds For Dodging Payments</a></bzrelatedlink>
However, unlike other American cities and states, the island was not allowed to file for bankruptcy, and therefore, could not get a court order to restructure its debt. In addition, the commonwealth was not allowed to borrow from the IMF, as it was not a sovereign nation either.
To make a long story short, the island was in trouble, as it had spent even more than it had borrowed, and, thus, could not return the money, neither could it easily restructure its obligations.
<h3>What Now?</h3>
On Wednesday, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s governor said the island would go into default, yet again, stressing the need for a long-term restructuring plan that&rsquo;s fair and equitable &ldquo;to both the people of Puerto Rico and the bondholders.&rdquo; And, a restructuring could finally come&hellip;or so it seems.
Earlier on Wednesday, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-29/puerto-rico-debt-bill-clears-biggest-remaining-hurdle-in-senate">Bloomberg</a> reported a bill that would allow the commonwealth to access some of the bankruptcy protections other U.S. states enjoy seemed close to passing &mdash; and could be approved as early as Thursday, as it had already passed the threshold it needed in the Senate. Moreover, the White House has stated that the president will sign the measure, if accepted by the Congress. Of course, a break would come with certain obligations, like spending cuts and external oversight.
<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/05/7914458/puerto-ricos-default-hurts-local-investors-the-most">Puerto Rico's Default Hurts Local Investors The Most</a></bzrelatedlink>
While Garc&iacute;a-Padilla expressed his discomfort with the oversight Congress wants to impose, arguing it would undermine the democratic Independence of the Commonwealth, he accepted it as the best choice available. Moreover, he said, whatever the Congress decides, Puerto Rico will still default on Friday.
&ldquo;The emergency measures we have taken are unsustainable, harm our economy, reduce revenues and diminish our capacity to repay our debts. Puerto Rico cannot endure any more austerity,&rdquo; he elaborated.
&ldquo;We are facing a government less capable of providing the services which the public needs,&rdquo; the governor added, making allusion to the cuts in education and healthcare that the so-called vulture funds (some hedge funds that own the debt and claim they &ldquo;should be paid before essential services&rdquo;) are asking for.
&ldquo;As governor, I will use my remaining time in office to benefit from the tools provided by PROMESA and develop a fiscal plan that is faithful to the best interests of the people of Puerto Rico,&rdquo; he concluded.
Check out Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda asking bondholders and the U.S. Government to help relieve Puerto Rico&rsquo;s situation&hellip;with a rap!

	&nbsp;

	<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Evat-L7djc" width="560"></iframe>

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	Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.

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