Buy side

Buy-side analysts and strategists offered recovery solutions for Puerto Rico ranging from eligibility for Chapter 9 bankruptcy to Congressional intervention and economic reform.

Weekly volume is estimated to vault to $8.5 billion the week of Aug. 24 as mammoth sales from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the state of California sit atop the weekly slate, while a $750 million deal from the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority looms on the day-to-day calendar.

Municipal bond funds saw inflows in the latest week, according to Lipper data released on Thursday. Funds which report weekly saw $43.656 million of inflows in the week ended Aug. 19, after seeing inflows of $11.087 million in the previous week, Lipper reported.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was three basis points higher to 4.40% for the week ended Aug. 20 from 4.37% in the previous week.

"Adventures in MuniLand," published by Cumberland Advisors Publishing and written by three of its senior staffers, is a 369-page guide that helps readers understand the changes that market endured during the seven-year period from the end of 2007 and the following financial crisis.

Municipal investors shouldn’t be preoccupied with fears about inflation, interest rates, or credit quality, according to municipal analysts and managers.

Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority's $750 million revenue bond sale, the largest deal on the coming week's primary calendar, promises to test the market's appetite for the island's high yield debt.

Fitch Ratings said 2014 hospital medians showed surprisingly strong results, while capital spending in the sector hit the lowest point in six years.

Municipal bond funds saw inflows in the latest week, according to the Lipper.

In the week ended August 13, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell by two basis points to 4.37% from 4.39% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

The revival in pension obligation bond issuance creates new risks for retirement systems that do not resolve chronic structural problems, rating analysts said.

Storm resilience could represent an ideal application for social impact bonds, some advocates say.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded more than three dozen Michigan school districts this year as falling enrollment continues to strain their finances.

Municipal volume is estimated to drop to $5 billion for the week of Aug. 10, with only 11 negotiated deals and no competitive sales larger than $100 million on the calendar.

Municipal bond funds suffered a second week of redemptions, according to the latest Lipper data. Funds which report weekly posted $308.245 million of outflows in the week ended Aug. 5, after experiencing outflows of $73.372 million in the previous week.

For the week ended August 6, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, decreased one basis point to 4.39%, from 4.40% the previous week.

Municipal issuers no longer consider bankruptcy to be taboo and distressed governments are increasingly likely to consider it an option, Moody's analysts said in a report.

Municipal credit quality deteriorated in the second quarter, reflecting fiscal problems in Puerto Rico, New Jersey and Chicago, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Within hours of the Obama Administration's release of the final Clean Power Plan on Monday, opponents vowed to take legal action to block the rule while others hailed the measure.

MacKay Shields forecast rising demand, a steep yield curve, volume growth, the return of monoline insurance, and outperformance in the tobacco sector for this year.