talkin about mortgage backed security reits. they take advantage of the spreads between short term rates and the rates that mortgage backed securities pay. theyre leveraged typically around 7:1 which is a lot less than typical leverage that banks use. typically these reits dont own real estate. here is a list of some of em in no particular order:


AHR - yielding 12.66%


CMO - yielding 30.4%


FB - yielding 16.02%


IMH - yielding 15.8%


NLY - yielding 15.86%


RAS - yielding 12.01%


a couple of notes about some of em. CMO does own real estate and is thinly traded and owned mostly by insiders. i havent found anything wrong with it. there was a share holder lawsuit of former ceo back in 1998. this is totally behind them now. AHR is considered to have the most secure dividend. FB is owned mostly by its parent company FBR. FBR has been doing investment banking for these mbs reits through secondaries. secondaries arent as bad for these as it might appear as it allows them to raise capital which they can use to generate more income even though the number of shares is diluted. anyway FB did a secondary about a month ago as it went for $33.25.


profitibility for these reits is best maintained thru a steep yield curve. i think govt. 5 year and 10 year hit a brick wall today. didnt go crazy but picked up some as they recovered a lot over the last hour and a half.


my favorite currency is the british pound as it looks to be super strong.