News and Information from Bond Buyer

The near week-long selloff in short term municipal bonds has been in the works since the beginning of the market's supply drought, market participants agreed.

As protection of the retail and non-sophisticated market participant continues to be a priority for regulators, the new rule, G-47, clarifies obligations previously embedded in interpretive notices and makes clear that the time-of-trade disclosure obligation applies when you “sell a municipal security to a customer, or purchase a municipal security from a customer, whether unsolicited or recommended, and whether in a primary offering or secondary market transaction.”

State treasurers need to explain to Congress how the Joint Committee on Taxation's estimated cost of the tax exemption for municipal bonds is problematic, a leading muni expert said.

The Government Finance Officers Association has adopted revised best practices to adjust for municipal advisor regulation that takes effect July 1.

Urban Futures, the company acting as financial advisor to San Bernardino during its bankruptcy, hired John Phan as a principal in the firm's Orange, Calif., office.

FINRA is examining allegations that broker-dealers violated bond documents and municipal rules by trading bonds from Puerto Rico's recent $3.5 billion general obligation deal to customers in sizes less than the required $100,000 minimum denomination.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term rating and underlying rating to A-plus from A on Mineola, Texas' general obligation debt.

Fitch Ratings said it has affirmed the AA-minus rating on the state of New Jersey's approximately $2.4 billion in outstanding general obligation debt and revised the rating outlook to negative from stable.

The Federal TIFIA loan program provides lower cost capital for toll roads, but can increase bondholder risk, Moody's Investors Service said in a new report.

Investors believe that a flurry of municipal fund inflows this year shows demand for municipal bonds will stay high during tax season.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has suspended its BBB rating on Rensselaer County Water & Sewer Authority, N.Y.'s series 2008 water and sewer service agreement revenue bonds, supported by the town of East Greenbush, and removed the rating from CreditWatch where it was placed with negative implications on March 4.

Moody's drops Covington, Ky.'s bonds to Baa1 citing a history of deficit spending by the city whose finance director recently pleaded guilty to stealing $800,000.

Three Detroit-area hospital systems said Friday they plan to merge into a single $2.8 billion system.

The California State Public Works Board is planning to sell $793 million of revenue bonds next week to finance on behalf of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation construction costs for a state prison and correctional facility.

Moody's Investors Service said it has assigned an A3 rating to UC Health, Ohio's Series 2014 fixed rate bonds, and upgraded the ratings on outstanding debt and the issuer rating to A3 from Baa1.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term rating on South Portland, Maine's outstanding general obligation bonds one notch, to AAA from AA-plus.

The Harlem building collapse has added a big exclamation point to talk about the need for New York to address its aging infrastructure.

Prices continued dropping for short-term bonds when the market opened Friday, maintaining a selloff over interest rate fears that began Tuesday.

Inflation expectations for the coming year fell to 1.8% from 2.0%, according to respondents to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's monthly business survey, released Friday.