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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000950123-11-008742.txt : 20110203
<SEC-HEADER>0000950123-11-008742.hdr.sgml : 20110203
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20110203171640
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000950123-11-008742
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	8-K
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT:	20110203
ITEM INFORMATION:		Other Events
FILED AS OF DATE:		20110203
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20110203

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			FLAHERTY & CRUMRINE/CLAYMORE TOTAL RETURN FUND INC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001245648
		IRS NUMBER:				000000000
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			MD
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1130

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		8-K
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	811-21380
		FILM NUMBER:		11571117

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		301 E COLORADO BLVD STE 720
		STREET 2:		C/O FLAHERTY & CRUMRINE INC
		CITY:			PASADENA
		STATE:			CA
		ZIP:			91101
		BUSINESS PHONE:		(626) 795-7300

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		301 E COLORADO BLVD STE 720
		STREET 2:		C/O FLAHERTY & CRUMRINE INC
		CITY:			PASADENA
		STATE:			CA
		ZIP:			91101
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>8-K
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>g07724e8vk.htm
<DESCRIPTION>FORM 8-K
<TEXT>
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>e8vk</TITLE>
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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">


<DIV style="width: 100%; border-bottom: 2pt solid black; font-size: 1pt">&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV style="width: 100%; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; font-size: 1pt">&nbsp;</DIV>




<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 14pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>UNITED STATES<BR>
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION</B>
</DIV>

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 12pt"><B>Washington, D.C. 20549</B>
</DIV>

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 18pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>FORM 8-K</B>
</DIV>


<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>CURRENT REPORT</B>
</DIV>


<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>Pursuant to Section&nbsp;13 or 15(d) of the<BR>
Securities Exchange Act of 1934</B></DIV>

<!-- xbrl,dc -->
<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): February&nbsp;3, 2011</B>
</DIV>
<!-- /xbrl,dc -->

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 20pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B><FONT style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000">Flaherty &#038; Crumrine/Claymore Total Return Fund Incorporated </FONT></B>
</DIV>

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 10pt">(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)</DIV>


<DIV align="center">
<TABLE style="font-size: 10pt" cellspacing="0" border="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">
<!-- Begin Table Head -->
<TR valign="bottom">
    <TD width="30%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="5%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="30%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="5%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="30%">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
<TR></TR>
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<TR valign="bottom">
    <TD align="center" valign="top"><B>Maryland</B><BR>
(State or other jurisdiction of <BR>
incorporation)
</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD align="center" valign="top"><B>811-21380</B><BR>
(Commission File Number)
</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD align="center" valign="top"><B>13-4258227</B><BR>
(I.R.S. Employer<BR>
Identification No.)</TD>
</TR>
<!-- End Table Body -->
</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>301 E. Colorado Blvd.<BR>
Suite&nbsp;720<BR>
Pasadena, CA 91101</B><BR>
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)</DIV>

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt">Registrant&#146;s telephone number, including area code: <B>626-795-7300</B></DIV>

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>Not Applicable</B></DIV>

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><DIV style="margin-top: 1px"><FONT style="border-top: 1px solid #000000">(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)</FONT></DIV></DIV>


<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the
filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction
A.2. below):
</DIV>


<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><FONT style="font-family: Wingdings">&#111;</FONT></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Written communications pursuant to Rule&nbsp;425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><FONT style="font-family: Wingdings">&#111;</FONT></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Soliciting material pursuant to Rule&nbsp;14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><FONT style="font-family: Wingdings">&#111;</FONT></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule&nbsp;14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b))</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><FONT style="font-family: Wingdings">&#111;</FONT></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule&nbsp;13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.13e-4(c))</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV style="width: 100%; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; margin-top: 10pt; font-size: 1pt">&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV style="width: 100%; border-bottom: 2pt solid black; font-size: 1pt">&nbsp;</DIV>










<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->&nbsp;<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>

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<H5 align="left" style="page-break-before:always">&nbsp;</H5><P>

<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">




<!--TOC-->
<!--/TOC-->





<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>Section&nbsp;8 &#151; Other Events</B>
</DIV>

<!-- link1 "Item&nbsp;8.01. Other Events" -->

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>Item&nbsp;8.01. Other Events.</B>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">The Fund has announced the following changes to its investment policies. These changes will
be effective on April&nbsp;4, 2011.
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><B>Old Policy</B>: At time of purchase, at least 80% of the securities that the Fund will acquire will be
rated investment grade by either Moody&#146;s Investors Services, Inc. (&#147;Moody&#146;s&#148;) or Standard &#038; Poor&#146;s
Corporation (&#147;S&#038;P&#148;), or, if unrated, judged to be comparable in quality. In addition, the Fund may
invest up to 20% of its assets at the time of purchase in securities rated below investment grade
by both Moody&#146;s and S&#038;P, if (a)&nbsp;such securities are rated at least &#147;Ba3&#148; by Moody&#146;s or &#147;BB-&#148; by S&#038;P
and (b)&nbsp;such securities are issued by an issuer having an outstanding class of senior debt rated
investment grade at the time of purchase. Thus, the Fund may not invest in securities rated below
&#147;Ba3&#148; by Moody&#146;s and below &#147;BB-&#148; by S&#038;P.
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><B>New Policy</B>: At time of purchase, at least 80% of the securities that the Fund will acquire will be
rated investment grade by any one of Moody&#146;s, S&#038;P or Fitch Ratings Group (&#147;Fitch&#148;). In addition,
the Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets at the time of purchase in securities rated below
investment grade by all of Moody&#146;s, S&#038;P and Fitch, provided that (a)&nbsp;such securities are rated at
least &#147;Ba3&#148; by Moody&#146;s, &#147;BB-&#148; by S&#038;P, or &#147;BB-&#148; by Fitch or (b)&nbsp;such securities are issued by an
issuer having an outstanding class of senior debt rated investment grade by any one of Moody&#146;s,
S&#038;P, or Fitch at the time of purchase. Thus, the Fund may invest in securities rated below &#147;Ba3&#148;
by Moody&#146;s, &#147;BB-&#148; by S&#038;P and &#147;BB-&#148; by Fitch if the issuer has investment grade senior debt
outstanding.
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><B>Impact of Changes</B>:
</DIV>


<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">(1)</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Fitch is now one of the approved ratings agencies for determining whether a security
meets the definition of &#147;investment grade&#148; for purpose of the Fund&#146;s policy of investing
at least 80% of its assets in securities rated investment grade at the time of purchase or
in securities of equivalent quality;</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">(2)</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>The Fund may now purchase securities rated below Ba3/BB-/BB- by each of Moody&#146;s, S&#038;P
and Fitch, respectively, as long as the senior debt of the same issuer is rated investment
grade by any one of Moody&#146;s, S&#038;P or Fitch at the time of purchase; and</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">(3)</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>If the senior debt of an issuer is unrated or it has no outstanding senior debt, the
Fund may now purchase its preferred securities if they are rated at least Ba3/BB-/BB- by
any one of Moody&#146;s, S&#038;P or Fitch, respectively.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>
<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">As a result of these changes, a security would be counted as investment grade if it had an
investment grade rating by any one of Moody&#146;s, S&#038;P or Fitch, even if the other two
rating agencies rated it below investment grade. The effect of this change would be to reduce the
Fund&#146;s holdings deemed below investment grade purchases, as of January&nbsp;31, 2011, from 16.6% to
12.3%. In addition, the Fund would be authorized to purchase below Ba or BB securities of
investment grade issuers, subject to an overall 20% limit on purchasing below investment grade
securities. While this change would permit the Fund
</DIV>


<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->- 2 -<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>

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<H5 align="left" style="page-break-before:always">&nbsp;</H5><P>

<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">
<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">to acquire securities rated B and below, the
Fund&#146;s adviser has no current intention of doing so.
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">As currently, the Fund will apply the ratings criteria at the time of purchase and the Fund will
not be required to dispose of securities if, after purchase, they are downgraded, although the
adviser may take this into account in determining whether to retain the security. As a result,
more than 20% of the Fund&#146;s holdings at any time may be rated below investment grade or in
equivalent securities.
</DIV>


<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><B>Risks of Investing in Securities Rated Below Ba3/BB-</B>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">The Fund currently can purchase below-investment grade securities with ratings of at least Ba3 by
Moody&#146;s and BB- by S&#038;P and Fitch; such ratings generally indicate an issuer that is less vulnerable
to non-payment of its obligations than other speculative issuers. The issuer, however, faces major
ongoing uncertainty or exposure to adverse business, financial or economic conditions that could
lead to inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments. Under the Fund&#146;s new investment
policy with respect to the investment grade rating of securities, the Fund may invest in securities
with ratings below Ba3/BB- so long as the issuer of such securities has an outstanding class of
senior debt rated investment grade by any one of Moody&#146;s, S&#038;P or Fitch. Although a company&#146;s senior
debt rating may be investment grade, an underlying security issued by such company in which the
Fund may invest may have a lower than investment grade rating. A security with a rating below
Ba3/BB- generally indicates the issuer of such security has a high degree of vulnerability of not
paying its financial obligations. A security rated B1 to B3 by Moody&#146;s, or B&#043; to B- by S&#038;P or
Fitch, for example, indicates an issuer that is more vulnerable to not paying its obligations than
a Ba3 or BB- issuer; the issuer, however, currently has the capacity to meet its financial
commitments, although adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the
issuer&#146;s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments. Securities rated Caa by
Moody&#146;s or CCC by S&#038;P or Fitch indicate an issuer that is highly speculative and likely to be in,
or very near default with some prospects of recovery of principal and interest., although the
issuer is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its
financial commitments. Securities rated below Caa or CCC generally indicate an issuer that it
highly vulnerable to not paying its obligations or that has defaulted on an obligation.
</DIV>


<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->- 3 -<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">
<!-- link1 "SIGNATURES" -->

<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 18pt"><B>SIGNATURES</B>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
</DIV>


<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="font-size: 10pt">
<TR>
    <TD width="48%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="35%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="15%">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
    <TD valign="top" align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="3" align="left">Flaherty &#038; Crumrine/Claymore Total <BR>
Return Fund Incorporated<BR>
&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR>
    <TD align="left">Date:  February 3, 2011&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD valign="top">By:&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000" align="left">/s/ Donald F. Crumrine
&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR>
    <TD align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="2" align="left">Donald F. Crumrine&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR>
    <TD align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="2" align="left">Chairman of the Board and Chief<br>
Executive Officer&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
    <TD colspan="5">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>


<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->- 4 -<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>



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