News and Information from Bond Buyer

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has introduced a new two year capital bill that spends $2.4 billion for capital projects and relies on $2.1 billion of new-money borrowing.

Attorneys opposed to new municipal advisor regulation warned state treasurers this week that the new regime will end productive relationships with investment bankers and hurt issuers financially.

The market opened slowly Wednesday as investors speculated about whether Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will discuss the Fed's 6.5% unemployment benchmark in her press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

The U.S. fourth quarter current account data, the broadest measure of international transactions, showed the expected improvement, with foreign sources funding the gap primarily via purchases of Treasury bills.

It didn't take long for several broker-dealers to start selling small denominations of Puerto Rico $3.5 billion of general obligation bonds to retail investors in violation of a requirement in the official statement and municipal securities rules.

Mar. 19, 2014 Midwest: Plain/Insured GO Yield Curve* State Ratings One-Year Five-Year 10-Year 30-Year Illinois A3/A+/A+ 0.32 1.87 3.63 4.89 Indiana Aaa/AAA/AA+ 0.15 1.13 2.56 3.81 Iowa Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.15 1.14 2.55 3.8 Michigan Aa2/AA/AA 0.22 1.3 2.81 4.06 Minnesota Aa1/AA+/AA+ 0.15 1.11 2.5 3.74 Missouri Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.15 1.07 2.43 3.68 Nebraska NR/AAA/AA+ 0.17 1.2 2.64 3.88 North Dakota Aa1/AA+/NR 0.17 1.17 2.58 3.85 Ohio Aa1/AA+/AA+ 0.17 1.15 2.61 3.88 South Dakota NR/AA+/NR 0.17 1.21 2.66 3.91 Wisconsin Aa2/AA/AA 0.16 1.19 2.64 3.91

3/18/2014 3/11/2014 State # Iss Amount ($000) # Iss Amount ($000) Chg in Amt ($000s) Illinois 10 $110,395 12 $1,125,815 -$1,015,420 Indiana 3 55,255 4 97,290 -42,035 Iowa 7 112,380 10 154,490 -42,110 Michigan 6 196,670 5 192,930 3,740 Minnesota 12 111,910 11 77,910 34,000 Missouri 1 2,130 5 155,780 -153,650 Nebraska 0 0 0 0 0 North Dakota 0 0 1 4,490 -4,490 Ohio 3 64,640 4 327,475 -262,835 South Dakota 0 0 0 0 0 Wisconsin 16 469,660 10 283,215 186,445

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual CPI Jan.: +0.1% Feb.: +0.1% Feb.: +0.1% CPI Core Jan.: +0.1% Feb.: +0.1% Feb.: +0.1% Housing Starts Jan.: 909,000 Feb.: 910,000 Feb.: 907,000 Building Permits Jan.: 945,000 Feb.: 960,000 Feb.: 1.018M

Wednesday, March 19 Issuer St Description Amount

Wednesday, March 19 Issuer St Description Amount

Week Of March 17 Issuer St Description Amount

Week Of March 17 Issuer St Description Amount

ARKANSAS

ARKANSAS

Detroit's bankruptcy proceedings are on hyper speed compared to San Bernardino's Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded ratings of bond insurers Assured Guaranty and National Public Finance Guarantee, the agency said Tuesday afternoon. Assured Guaranty, the only insurer to continue operating through the 2008 financial crisis, received a boost to AA from AA-minus.

Light issuance is not stopping investors from hunting for high-yield products, as traders look to lower-rated bonds like healthcare deals for larger return.

Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo has proposed a municipal infrastructure bank to help cities and towns obtain funding for infrastructure upgrades.

With much of the angst around the debt ceiling silenced until 2015, Congress is unlikely to focus much on the municipal securities market, which means that the tax-exempt status of municipal debt is unlikely to be threatened in the near term. With that said, regulator cross hairs remained trained on the municipal market.

Government