News and Information from Bond Buyer

Top quality municipal bonds were mixed at midday, traders said, with yields on short maturities moving higher, intermediates remaining steady and longer terms declining.

The Treasury Department said it will auction $11 billion 9-year 10-month 5/8% inflation-protected notes on March 17.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $37 billion 91-day bills and $30 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

Bank placements will continue to be an attractive capital source for not-for-profit hospitals and other tax exempt entities, though the lower cost of capital comes with certain inherent risks compared with traditional publicly offered bonds.

The chairman of the Puerto Rico House Treasury and Budget Committee called for major tax changes including $1.2 billion in tax cuts and spending measures.

The municipal bond market was eagerly awaiting the last of the week’s hefty new issuance, led off by deals from out west.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc., a publicly-traded company that operates an electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, announced Thursday that it will expand its trading system in April to include the municipal market.

The European Central Bank announced its Governing Council cut interest rates 5 basis points on its main refinancing rate at its latest monetary policy meeting Thursday.

Thursday, March 10 Issuer St Description Amount

Thursday, March 10 Issuer St Description Amount

Week Of March 7 Issuer St Description Amount

Week Of March 7 Issuer St Description Amount

ALABAMA

FLORIDA

Mar. 10, 2016 Southeast: Plain/Insured GO Yield Curve* State Ratings One-Year Five-Year 10-Year 30-Year Alabama Aa1/AA/AA+ 0.48 1.12 2.02 3.01 Florida Aa1/AAA/AAA 0.46 1.18 2.02 2.98 Georgia Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.46 1.08 1.88 2.85 Kentucky Aa2/A+/AA+ 0.5 1.22 2.08 3.08 Louisiana Aa3/AA/AA 0.58 1.38 2.3 3.31 Mississippi Aa2/AA/AA+ 0.48 1.18 2.11 3.11 North Carolina Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.46 1.08 1.88 2.85 South Carolina Aaa/AA+/AAA 0.46 1.11 1.93 2.89 Tennessee Aaa/AA+/AAA 0.46 1.11 1.91 2.86 Virginia Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.45 1.07 1.87 2.84 West Virginia Aa1/AA/AA+ 0.47 1.15 2 3

3/9/2016 3/2/2016 State Iss Amount ($000s) Iss Amount ($000s) Chg in Amt ($000s) Alabama 2 $8,550 0 $0 8,550 Florida 6 418,425 6 520,310 -101,885 Georgia 2 55,000 0 0 55,000 Kentucky 4 41,215 8 116,970 -75,755 Louisiana 2 234,680 1 8,500 226,180 Mississippi 0 0 0 0 0 North Carolina 6 168,820 1 22,350 146,470 South Carolina 0 0 4 229,815 -229,815 Tennessee 5 59,225 2 12,350 46,875 Virginia 3 233,735 1 168,110 65,625 West Virginia 0 0 0 0 0

The Internal Revenue Service issued a “correction” on Wednesday that makes its proposed definition of political subdivision truly prospectively effective.

Most issuers that obtained bank loans in 2015 did not hurt their credit quality, but some had bank loans with terms that adversely impacted credit quality. Increased disclosure of bank loans obtained, as well as their terms, is needed, according to a Standard & Poor’s report released on Wednesday.

Government

Washington State Treasurer James McIntire wants Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to create a safe harbor for competitive sales of muni bonds in their re-proposed issue price rules.