The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that on April 25, the S&P/TSX Utilities index was 2751 and now it is 21.2 per cent lower at 2167. The Globe's Scott Barlow writes that utility stock holders are faced with a dilemma. They can do nothing, collect a dividend somewhere near the sector average of 5.31 per cent, and stomach the suddenly volatile stock prices. Or, they can sell the stocks and buy a 10-year bond with a suddenly attractive yield that is entirely risk free as long as they hold it to maturity. This dilemma is broadly applicable to REIT investors and pipeline investors where sector giant Enbridge is down 18.28 per cent year to date. (Although in the latter case the 8.22-per-cent yield is a lot more than the government bond). The vertical move in global bond yields was caused in large part by the realization that major central banks were not kidding when they warned of "higher for longer" rates. Mr. Barlow believes the downward pressure on income-oriented equities, is largely played out and may begin to reverse in the midterm. He argues against locking in losses by selling income-paying equity sectors like utilities. There is reason to believe that the bulk of the damage has been done.