Markets

Tax-exempt funds continued to see negative flows as $1.12 billion fled the funds and total net assets settled at $270.27 billion in the week ended June 25, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

As the SEC toys with the possibility of imposing further regulations on money market funds, those close to the $2.6 trillion industry say the revisions are problematic, highly unnecessary, and could seriously undermine the successful operation and existence of the 40-year-old industry.

Refundings have dominated the new supply of municipal bonds so far in 2012. They've been driving up demand by taking higher coupon bonds out of the market

Refundings have dominated the new supply of municipal bonds so far in 2012. They've been driving up demand by taking higher coupon bonds out of the market.

The finances of local and state governments and other muni sectors generally improved from 2010 to 2011, according to McDonnell Investment Management, LLC.

New Rule G-43 requires that broker's brokers make reasonable efforts to obtain fair and reasonable prices when conducting secondary-market "bid-wanted" auctions.

In the aftermath of Moody's Investors Service downgrade of several key U.S. banks late Thursday, it downgraded roughly $64 billion in affected municipal debt Friday afternoon.

At an anticipated $8.11 billion, municipal bond issuance this week should subside slightly. But because investors are neck-deep in heavy cash flows, the market has been absorbing healthy calendars over the past few weeks with only modest concessions to yields.