The mounting concern over "munis" has brought with it hedge funds and financial institutions who want to bet on the bonds' creditworthiness, or make money on the back of volatile "spreads" -- the premiums at which munis trade relative to benchmark debt.
Other commentators have put the average motor premium at £445, which would mean an extra £15.50 to pay.
The mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the government took over in September, have had to pay a steep premium over rates at which the Treasury borrows because policy makers have not explicitly guaranteed their debt.
That's a 52% premium over the price at which Tycom shares were selling before the news.
It knows that most of the competition in this segment RX300, ML320, X5, MDX isn't at the base price, but at around $40,000, at which premium extras like leather seating, a moonroof, six-disc CD changer, auto-dimming rearview mirror and, of course, a third row of seats, all become available.
But with most bank stocks trading at decent premiums to the prices at which they would have to convert the government's preferred stock, it's a fair bet the next six months will be happier for the underwriters of Wall Street.
The United States is not one of Europe's heavily indebted countries, which must pay hefty premiums over the price at which Germany can borrow.
Sirtris was acquired at an 84percentt premium, better than the 50percentt at which most companies are bought, Dr. Westphal said.
Although the rate at which health premiums are rising has slowed over the past few years, they are 78% higher than in 2001.
