Buy side

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was one basis point lower to 4.14% from 4.15% for the previous week.

California Public Employees' Retirement System chief executive officer Anne Stausboll announced Thursday that she will retire as the head of the nation's largest public pension fund.

A continuing decline in oil prices will strain the budgets of five producing states to varying degrees, according to Standard & Poor's.

Moody’s Investors Service offered a mixed picture of states’ progress on dealing with their pension liabilities in fiscal year 2014.

Standard & Poor's socked the already junk-rated Chicago Board of Education with a two-notch downgrade Friday as the fiscally embattled district prepares to come to market later this month.

Only 7% of the nation’s 3,069 counties have fully recovered from the last recession, according to research by the National Association of Counties.

In the week ended Jan. 14, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell three basis points to 4.15% from 4.18% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

Municipals are benefitting from an asset reallocation after international and domestic volatility spooked investors in the weeks leading up to 2016.

The lack of supply to meet demand – especially for yield – is seen as benefitting Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and Illinois when all three fiscally distressed credits land in the bond market during the next two weeks.

In the week ended Jan. 7, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell to 4.18% from 4.22% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

A hedging strategy that minimizes interest rate and duration risk by using short positions, primarily in U.S. Treasury futures contracts, is a discipline that James C. Robinson, CEO of Robinson Capital Management LLC, believes sets his firm apart from other investment advisors.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was unchanged at 4.22% for the week ended Dec. 30 from the previous week.

With a fresh default on debt service looming, Lombard, Ill., wants bondholders to buy into a proposed restructuring of its $190 million of hotel/conference center debt.

Illinois returns to the market in January with a $480 million bond deal after a 20-month absence during which its ratings fell and its unpaid bill backlog skyrocketed, and with a state budget six months overdue.

Washington State Treasurer James McIntire surprised insiders with his decision to not seek re-election after two terms in a position that includes oversight of state bond sales.

Municipal portfolio managers, strategists, analysts, and directors, weighed in on the impact of December's interest rate increase and other predictions for 2016.

In the week ended Dec. 24, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell to 4.22% from 4.24% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

Respondents to an annual SIFMA survey predict total municipal issuance will hit $431.5 billion next year, while they predict that the federal funds rate will rise to 1% by the end of 2016.

Issuers say green bonds are here to stay, and that efforts to increase transparency about the environmental benefits will pay off with a broader investor base and cheaper financing costs.

The "gradual and contingent nature" of the California Public Employees' Retirement System plan to revise its investment return assumptions could mean substantial fiscal risk to California governments, Moody's Investors service said Friday.