Markets

Standard & Poor's socked the already junk-rated Chicago Board of Education with a two-notch downgrade Friday as the fiscally embattled district prepares to come to market later this month.

Only 7% of the nation’s 3,069 counties have fully recovered from the last recession, according to research by the National Association of Counties.

In the week ended Jan. 14, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell three basis points to 4.15% from 4.18% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

Municipals are benefitting from an asset reallocation after international and domestic volatility spooked investors in the weeks leading up to 2016.

The lack of supply to meet demand – especially for yield – is seen as benefitting Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and Illinois when all three fiscally distressed credits land in the bond market during the next two weeks.

In the week ended Jan. 7, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell to 4.18% from 4.22% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

A hedging strategy that minimizes interest rate and duration risk by using short positions, primarily in U.S. Treasury futures contracts, is a discipline that James C. Robinson, CEO of Robinson Capital Management LLC, believes sets his firm apart from other investment advisors.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was unchanged at 4.22% for the week ended Dec. 30 from the previous week.

With a fresh default on debt service looming, Lombard, Ill., wants bondholders to buy into a proposed restructuring of its $190 million of hotel/conference center debt.

Illinois returns to the market in January with a $480 million bond deal after a 20-month absence during which its ratings fell and its unpaid bill backlog skyrocketed, and with a state budget six months overdue.