Investors & Investing
- Yields Narrowly Mixed in 'Bifurcated Week’
The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes were narrowly mixed, with some dipping to 43-year lows while others increased.
- Unit Investment Trusts Become Top BAB Vehicle
The unit investment trust has quietly blossomed into the dominant investing vehicle for Build America Bonds — the taxable municipal debt created under last year’s stimulus legislation. [FREE]
- Tax-Free Money Market Funds Slip $2.84B
Tax-free money market funds continued to seesaw during the week ending Aug. 30, declining $2.84 billion to $337.91 billion in total assets on the heels of nearly $600 million the previous week, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.
- Once-Cheap CEFs Continue High-End Transformation
If there’s a day of reckoning on the horizon for municipal closed-end funds, the market hasn’t spotted it as investors continue to fork over a premium for the trusts.
- BlackRock Rakes In $1B for BAB CEF
BlackRock has raised more than $1 billion for a closed-end fund devoted to Build America Bonds, creating the largest public vehicle offering investors exposure to the new class of taxable municipal debt.
- Mutual Funds Nab $728.4 Million
Municipal bond mutual funds reported another healthy slug of new money last week as demand for high-quality fixed income continued to drive investment flows. [FREE]
- Supply Drops by Half Ahead of Shortened Calendar
Investors clamoring for new supply will be faced with slim pickings this week when long-term volume in the tax-exempt market sinks to an estimated $2.61 billion — less than half of last week’s total — as trading and underwriting begins to wind down ahead of Labor Day, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.
Other Headlines
- Delaware River Port Authority Announces Hiring Freeze, Budget Cuts
- Blocked N.Y. Tobacco Tax Law Won’t Affect Seneca Bonds: S&P
- Munis Little Changed Ahead of Break
- Moody’s Raises California Vets GOs to Aa2
- New Jersey TTFA Approves $1.4B Deal, Likely With BABs
- N.Y. Comptroller Requires Boost in Pension Contributions
- Treasury Announces NIBP Changes for HFAs