Markets

For the ninth week in a row, municipal bond funds reported an almost $1.2 billion outflow, the largest cash withdrawal so far this year. This brought to 12 out of 27 weeks this year the funds have suffered cash withdrawals.

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 4.48% for the week ended July 2 from 4.46% in the previous week.

Chicago's junk paper offers an enticing opportunity, says one buyside professional who views the city's credit as being on the upswing with a long term solution to its pension woes within reach.

Municipal bond issuers may find healthy demand for $4.9 billion of deals scheduled in the coming week, as investors look to put reinvestment money to work.

About 53% of open end mutual funds have exposure to some type of Puerto Rico debt, down from almost 70% in 2014, according to Morningstar Inc.

Issuers from Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan compared notes on market challenges at the Bond Buyer's Midwest conference; Illinois credits face the toughest sledding.

Puerto Rico faces a fight from one of its biggest bondholders as it seeks to reduce debt service payments for several years.

Puerto Rico's insolvency is a game changer that will have a deep and far-reaching impact on the market, municipal professionals said Tuesday at a Bond Buyer conference in Chicago.

Muni experts expect outperformance by high credit-quality issues, a decline in refundings, troubled credits to dominate the headlines, and the Fed to raise rates in the second half of the year.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla may have worsened relations with traditional municipal investors when he acknowledged long-standing concerns that the commonwealth cannot pay its $72 billion in municipal bond debts.