Markets

CHICAGO — After a slow 2010, capital spending by nonprofit health care borrowers will likely remain low through 2015 amid a still-weak economy and the uncertain impact of the new federal health care law, according to Fitch Ratings.

As rating agencies seek to provide more transparency and regain accountability on how they rate credits, Standard & Poor's has issued a report stating how it will suspend ratings for U.S. public finance issuers.

The municipal market can expect to see $1.2 billion in new issuance this week, down dramatically from last week's revised $4.42 billion as the market takes a rest before Labor Day.

Investors pulled money from municipal bond mutual funds for a fifth consecutive week.

The week ending Aug. 24 saw $148 million in outflows from muni bond funds that report their flows weekly, according to Lipper FMI.

When Treasuries run, munis jog. That's the usual trend. But this week's Bond Buyer indexes suggest the muni market backed up quite a bit more than Treasuries on concerns of diminished demand and the prospect of post-Labor Day supply.

Even amid record-low muni yields, new issuance is expected to take a hit this week, with $3.65 billion of new money coming to market, down from last week’s revised $4.72 billion.

Plenty of scary headlines were circulating in the global marketplace this week, prompting investors to flock to high-grade fixed income.