Buy side

Fitch Ratings deemed the reorganization of Clark County School District, Nevada's largest school and the nation's fifth biggest, to be a mid-term credit risk in a report describing the experience of a Utah school district that underwent a break-up in 2010.

Allen Park, Mich. received a positive review from Standard & Poor's for its advancing efforts to shed some its troublesome $26.3 million of debt issued for a failed film studio, with an upgrade for the still speculative-grade credit.

Moody's Investors Service had more upgrades than downgrades in the third quarter of 2015, and the upgrades also affected a larger dollar amount of debt than its downgrades.

Municipal bond funds reported inflows for the fifth week in a row, according to Lipper data released on Thursday. Weekly reporting funds experienced $62.996 million of inflows in the week ended Nov. 4, after inflows of $349.038 million in the previous week.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, rose one basis point to 4.35% in the week ended Nov. 5, from 4.34% in the prior week.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency entered a new partnership with current shareholder and investor Wharf Street LLC to own a majority stake in the firm and pump new capital into the rating agency for future growth and expansion.

Citing a state budget impasse in its fifth month, Moody's downgraded Pennsylvania's pre-default intercept programs for school districts to A3 from A2.

Like Depression-era Arkansas, Puerto Rico took on too much debt, leading to a crisis when the worldwide economy shrank. But there are some key differences.

Chicago’s passage of a record tax hike to help stabilize its public safety pension funds has fueled further tightening of the city’s general obligation trading levels in recent days, Municipal Market Analytics says.

Long before Puerto Rico's debt crisis, Arkansas' defaults were followed by a decade of refundings, a debt exchange, and ultimately Federal help to resolve its problems.

A three part series examining Arkansas' road to default, the state's efforts to resolve the crisis, and the similarities and differences with Puerto Rico today.

Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency see the Chicago City Council’s passage of a record property tax as a good step toward stabilizing the city’s finances, though they say plenty of concerns remain.

A rally in the high-yield tobacco bond sector is being buoyed by a slowdown in cigarette consumption declines, a settlement in New York with the big tobacco companies, and demand for risk assets.

Municipal bond funds reported inflows for the fourth week in a row, according to Lipper data released on Thursday. Weekly reporting funds experienced $349.038 million of inflows in the week ended Oct. 28, after inflows of $240.718 million in the previous week.

While Illinois’ falling ratings doesn’t post much default risk, investors should tread cautiously with the credit due to headline risks that could cut the value of their holdings, that’s the assessment offered from one buyside participant.

In the week ended Oct. 29, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index remained flat at 4.34% from the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

Nevada's Clark County School District, the nation's fifth largest, is in the midst of a restructuring that could have repercussions for its outstanding and future bonds.

With more colleges facing fiscal challenges issuing debt for new projects, many higher education institutions are exploring alternative forms of financing, according to Tom Morsch, co-head of Public Financial Management Inc.’s public-private partnership practice.

Despite last week’s downgrades, Illinois’ general obligation paper fares better than New Jersey for relative credit risk, Municipal Market Analytics said in a commentary comparing the two lowest-rated states.

Municipal professionals, insurers and bondholders criticized the United States Treasury’s proposal for a “Super Chapter 9” bankruptcy bill for Puerto Rico as dangerous.