Markets

Investors are watching an Aug. 13 refinancing on $985 million of bonds for proposed commuter line projects with southern Florida counties.

Columbia College Chicago was lowered one notch to BB-plus from BBB-minus by S&P Global Ratings, citing the school's falling headcount and diminished demand.

The top five featured in the ranking handled deals totalling more than $84 billion in par value.

The airport, also selling $412.8 million of new money, will join a bevy of issuers who have deployed a tender offer in the hope of realizing refunding savings.

Investors added $571.5 million from municipal bond mutual funds in the week ended Wednesday, following $224.6 million of outflows the prior week, according to LSEG Lipper data.

Port Freeport's decision to go property tax-free resulted in a revenue bond rating downgrade from S&P and raised disclosure questions.

The fund's sell-off in June shows the challenges of accurate pricing in the high-yield muni market.

Larger dealer networks lead to lower markups, but smaller networks show evidence of potential collusion and market manipulation, the paper said.

The toll revenue bonds, subject to federal alternative minimum tax, will be issued through the Wisconsin-based Public Finance Authority.

Longer-term munis have become more attractive, said Cooper Howard, a fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab.