Patrick McGee

Municipal bond yields were mostly flat Thursday even as the Treasury market weakened across the curve owing to the ­return of risk appetite.

Troubled bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp. posted a gain in its statutory surplus even as its bankrupt parent recorded a net loss in its fourth-quarter filing Wednesday.

Four former superintendents of the New York Insurance Department argued Sunday that the regulating body didn’t have the authority to approve bond insurer MBIA Inc.’s February 2009 ­restructuring.

Tax-exempt yields firmed by two basis points on the short end but trading of longer maturities remains stagnant as bid-wanted lists go ignored.

Tax-exempt yields firmed Monday by two basis points on the short-end but trading of longer maturities remains stagnant as bid-wanted lists go ignored.

Despite tax-exempt volume droning along at an 11-year low while governments struggle to cut spending and limit debt issuance in a high interest-rate environment, financial firms continue to sense opportunity in public finance.

Guggenheim Securities announced Wednesday that it has snatched four public finance veterans from the New York office of Stone & Youngberg. The new team of underwriters complements a municipal sales and trading desk established in 2008.

As municipalities confront unprecedented budget shortfalls in the aftermath of the Great Recession, some analysts are questioning whether the history of prioritizing bondholders during bankruptcy proceedings will be of much help in gauging future outcomes.

Vallejo has been mired in a messy, prolonged and expensive bankruptcy proceeding since May 2008. But if the California city is “the poster boy of a new era,” as some have suggested, that doesn’t look too bad for bondholders.

With pundits predicting a "wave of bankruptcies" in the municipal market this year, experts say one thing should be kept in mind: the majority of distressed issuers undergoing the Chapter 9 process don't end up stiffing bondholders.

Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. fell 5.4% on Friday as the bond insurance holding company told investors about strategies it could try to maintain its double-A ratings.

Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. fell 5.4% on Friday as the bond insurance holding company told investors about strategies it could try to maintain its double-A ratings.

Seven senior managing consultants were promoted to managing directors this week at PFM Group, the Philadelphia-based financial and investment firm.

A reincarnation of the Build America Bond program would be another credit negative for bond insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The chances that Ambac Assurance Corp. will be able to keep $700 million of disputed tax refunds increased last week when a federal court in Wisconsin again threw out the Internal Revenue Service’s case against the bond insurer.

NEW YORK - A federal court in Wisconsin on Friday again threw out the Internal Revenue Service case against Ambac Assurance Corp.

The municipal bond insurance industry would still be thriving today if big banks hadn’t defrauded the insurers.

State and local governments borrowed more money in 2010 than any other year on record, but traditional muni investors often found it difficult to buy tax-exempt paper thanks to the onslaught of Build America Bonds.

Bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp. remains at risk after the Internal Revenue Service filed an amended complaint last week to retrieve more than $700 million of tax refunds.

Municipal bond mutual funds in the period ending Feb. 9 saw heavy withdrawals for the 13th consecutive week.