News and Information from Bond Buyer

Chicago-based Mesirow Financial has hired Morgan Stanley veteran Eric Vandercar to head municipal funding in its institutional sales and trading department.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its underlying rating to CCC from BBB on Madison County, Miss.'s series 2005 special assessment bonds, issued by Parkway East Public Improvement District, and removed the rating from CreditWatch with negative implications.

Former UBS banker Mark Zaino walked out of court a free man after a federal judge chose to impose no further sentence for his role in rigging muni bond contracts.

Strategists believe that the Federal Reserve's five-year Treasury auction on Wednesday helped stabilize the municipal market and drive down yields.

The Treasury Department said it will auction $25 billion year bills on April 3.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $25 billion 91-day bills and $23 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "increased, and producers' expectations were mostly stable at solid levels," according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

Continuing a recent pattern, $195 million trickled out of tax-exempt money market funds as total net assetsdipped to $270.29 billion in the week ended March 24, according to The MoneyFund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Pending home sales dropped 0.8% to an index reading of 93.9 in February, after a revised 0.2% slip to 94.7 in January, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

Initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to 311,000 in the week ended March 22, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Various information will be used by the Fed to determine when to raise rates, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto said Thursday.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual Durable Goods Jan.: -1.3% Feb.: +1.0% Feb.: +2.2% Durable Goods ex-trans Jan.: +0.9% Feb.: +0.3% Feb.: +0.2%

Mar. 27, 2014 Southeast: Plain/Insured GO Yield Curve* State Ratings One-Year Five-Year 10-Year 30-Year Alabama Aa1/AA/AA+ 0.17 1.43 2.74 3.91 Florida Aa1/AAA/AAA 0.15 1.44 2.72 3.9 Georgia Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.15 1.34 2.54 3.71 Kentucky Aa2/AA+/AA 0.17 1.47 2.76 3.94 Louisiana Aa2/AA/AA 0.16 1.47 2.75 3.93 Mississippi Aa2/AA/AA+ 0.17 1.48 2.76 3.89 North Carolina Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.15 1.34 2.54 3.71 South Carolina Aaa/AA+/AAA 0.15 1.36 2.57 3.73 Tennessee Aaa/AA+/AAA 0.15 1.36 2.59 3.76 Virginia Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.13 1.34 2.54 3.71 West Virginia Aa1/AA/AA 0.16 1.48 2.77 3.94

3/26/2014 3/19/2014 State Iss Amount ($000s) Iss Amount ($000s) Chg in Amt ($000s) Alabama 0 $0 1 $5,930 -$5,930 Florida 9 404,882 8 504,860 -99,978 Georgia 9 920,865 8 855,920 64,945 Kentucky 1 2,800 2 17,925 -15,125 Louisiana 1 209,025 2 25,300 183,725 Mississippi 0 0 0 0 0 North Carolina 0 0 0 0 0 South Carolina 1 3,500 0 0 3,500 Tennessee 2 13,395 5 53,505 -40,110 Virginia 5 229,390 2 138,200 91,190 West Virginia 0 0 0 0 0

Thursday, March 27 Issuer St Description Amount

Thursday, March 27 Issuer St Description Amount

Week Of March 24 Issuer St Description Amount

Week Of March 24 Issuer St Description Amount

CALIFORNIA

ALASKA