Looking for a 4.5% return?

Try California. The state treasurer's office took orders today for more than a third of the $4 billion worth of notes being sold this week. Notes due June 22 might yield 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, according to Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for California Treasurer Bill Lockyer. That's tax-exempt (final numbers won’t be out until later in the week). The state sold $7 billion of notes last year at 3.37 percent. These are the short-term notes that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Treasurer Bill Lockyer worried might not get enough customers. No apparent problem there, but the state will be shelling out a bunch in borrowing costs - just what we need. (Bloomberg)