Markets

Fitch Ratings released a draft on Thursday detailing changes to its U.S. tax-supported bond rating criteria. The rating agency said it expects less than 10% of the ratings covered would be affected.

According to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer, municipalities will sell an estimated $3.70 billion of total new volume, compared to the revised $3.32 billion that was priced in the past week as reported by Thomson Reuters.

Immediate threats to Pennsylvania bondholders are minimal despite a two-month state budget stalemate, said Moody’s Investors Service.

Municipal bond funds saw outflows in the latest week, according to Lipper data released on Thursday. Funds which report weekly saw $586.481 million of outflows in the week ended Sept. 2, after seeing outflows of $344.563 million in the previous week, Lipper reported.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, increased two basis points to 4.42% for the week ended Sept. 3 from 4.40% in the previous week.

The pair of new funds will invest in municipal bonds — principally in high quality obligations — that offer federal tax exemption.

Solutions to the public pension funding crisis go beyond numbers crunching, said Manhattan Institute pension expert Daniel DiSalvo.

U.S. toll roads rated by Moody's Investors Service improved their finances in fiscal year 2014, the rating agency said.

Hillview, Ky.'s bankruptcy filing offers more evidence that municipalities increasingly consider filing for reorganization as a way to cure balance-sheet problems, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Municipal volume is forecast to plunge to the lowest in six months as end-of-summer holidays approach.