Buy side

For the week ended June 25, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, increased one basis point to 4.46%, from 4.45% the previous week.

Total net tax-supported debt fell for the first time in 28 years in 2014, a Moody’s report found.

A Virginia judge approved a mediated deal June 22 that will keep Virginia's Briar College open for another year and release endowment funds.

Covenant violations on lines of credit and poor operations caused Howard University's bond rating to fall with the possibility of the rating declining more if the university cannot fix operations that have been running a deficit in recent years.

Los Angeles’ $1.39 billion of Series 2015 tax and revenue anticipation notes and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ $939 million GO bond sales lead the way for a week that is projected to see $8.7 billion, according to Ipreo and The Bond Buyer. That is up from the revised $6.5 billion that the market saw the week of June 15, according to Thomson Reuters.

Analysts at BlackRock Inc. say municipal demand will rebound once a combination of budgetary and quarter-end pressures subside at the end of June.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, decreased two basis points to 4.45% for the week ended June 18 from 4.47% in the previous week.

For the seventh week in a row, municipal bond funds reported outflows, bringing to 10 out of 25 weeks this year the funds have suffered cash withdrawals.

Volatile muni yields coupled with the trepidation surrounding a Federal Open Market Committee meeting seem to have put a damper on new issuance as volume for the coming week is estimated at $6.72 billion, according to Ipreo and The Bond Buyer.

For the week ended June 11, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, increased five basis points to 4.47% from 4.42% from the previous week.

For the sixth week in a row, municipal bond funds reported outflows, bringing to nine out of 24 weeks this year the funds have suffered cash withdrawals.

Fund manager Andy Chorlton evaluates market indicators to see where interest rates could go as he seeks to maximize after-tax returns.

Atlanta-based Asset Preservation Advisors recommends that investors remain “highly selective” when purchasing Kentucky’s bonds due to the state’s high pension liability.

Hartford Funds is launching two new municipal bond funds to expand its suite of products

The week of June 8 will see the muni market with the largest deals being of the competitive variety, not negotiated.

Managing a small portfolio has advantages of generating significant income and returns for high net worth clients, according to Jeffery Elswick, director of fixed income at Frost Investment Advisors LLC.

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 4.42% for the week ended June 4 from 4.43% in the previous week.

For the fifth straight week, municipal bond funds reported outflows, bringing to eight out of 23 weeks this year the funds have suffered cash withdrawals, according to the latest Lipper data.

Helped by a stronger revenue backing, Chicago’s remarketing of $112 million of sales tax-backed fared notably better Wednesday than its general obligation issue a week earlier, though spreads demonstrated a substantial market penalty.

Moody's says that hospitals in Medicaid expansion states saw big drops in bad debt and that furthermore, providers across the entire sector saw improved financials in fiscal 2014.