Dan Seymour

The calm that has descended over the municipal bond market may last only as long as the current supply drought.

NEW YORK - The calm that has descended over the municipal bond market may last only as long as the current supply drought.

Climbing the wall of expiring bank guarantees on municipal debt in the coming months may not turn out to be as daunting as anticipated.

Municipal bond mutual fund outflows moderated last week as a nervous market seemed better able to absorb the relentless fund selling.

Moody’s Investors Service is considering downgrading the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey because of its need to continue borrowing money to finance transportation projects even as toll collections and airport fees grow slowly.

Investors established a new record for withdrawals from municipal bond mutual funds last week as headline risk continued to chase people from state and local government debt funds.

Investors established a new record for withdrawals from municipal bond mutual funds last week as headline risk continued to chase people from state and local government debt funds.

The sophisticated investor in retail municipal bonds has ­remained calm the past few months even as mutual funds have dumped state and local ­government debt by the truckload.

Mutual funds have emerged as the dominant source of selling pressure for state and local government paper in the new year as investors keep pulling out their money, forcing fund complexes to sell bonds into an already jittery market.

Most municipal bond exchange-traded funds in the fourth quarter performed noticeably worse than the indexes they were designed to track. Or, depending on your perspective, they performed noticeably better.

Investors kept pulling their cash from municipal bond mutual funds at a record pace last week as frightened money continued to flee the market.

After a wild fourth quarter rife with technical pressures and ­illiquidity, it turns out municipals mostly may have simply been obeying their old master: ­Treasuries.

No sooner did Build America Bonds become orphaned than they caught fire.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2010 reclaimed its title as the top underwriter of municipal debt, thanks mainly to its dominance in the competitive market.

Municipalities will continue their hiatus from borrowing money this week as they are once again slated to sell a meager amount of new debt.

Municipal bond mutual funds coughed up more cash last week as investors continue to take their money out of state and local government debt funds at a record pace.

Municipal government tax receipts in the third quarter grew at the fastest annual rate since 2007 as property taxes continue to defy the years-long housing malaise.

Tax-free money market funds commanded new money from investors last week — the second straight week of inflows — possibly marking an ebb, or at least a slowdown, to the rush of cash away from money funds the past two years.

Record municipal bond mutual fund redemptions have emerged as a threat to the rally most market participants expected to kick off early next year, as the anticipated slowdown in the supply of new bonds is met with a wave of selling by mutual funds.

Record municipal bond mutual fund redemptions have emerged as a threat to the rally most market participants expected to kick off early next year, as the anticipated slowdown in the supply of new bonds is met with a wave of selling by mutual funds.