Buy side

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund will explore using taxable munis and reinsurance to provide $2.2 billion in liquidity for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season.

Tobacco bonds may be on their way to the biggest volume since 2007, led by Wednesday's $1.7 billion sale from California, as issuers refinance amid a decline in smoking that's cut deeply into revenue.

Within two to three months Ipreo will serve as point of origination for CUSIP requests, the companies said.

Municipal analysts blame the lull in municipal high-yield investment on a range of factors, from uncertainty over interest rates to bulging supply in the investment-grade sector.

Weekly volume is expected to exceed $8 billion again, with most of the bigger deals related to education.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, decreased six basis points to 4.25% from 4.31% for the week ended March 12.

Bel Air Investment Advisors LLC opens, a Los Angeles-area firm that manages $7 billion in assets including many munis, opened a San Francisco office as part of a larger expansion plan.

Fitch Ratings last year had more positive ratings than negative ones in United States public finance for the first time since 2008.

A federal ruling against states may set a precedent for risky local spending on broadband, credit analysts said.

Municipal volume is expected to exceed $8 billion for a 10th straight week, led by a rare issue from Honolulu.

Tax revenue in the top oil producing states has fallen sharply, dropping by 40% in Texas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, increased four basis points to 4.31% from 4.27% for the week ended March 5.

Dorothy Thomas at Regions Investment Management is keeping duration short, with low exposure to the long end of the curve, a focus on high-quality securities, and building cash flow.

Florida Gulf Coast University's credit outlook stabilized Monday when two rating agencies found that recent modifications to the terms of a direct bank loan lessened the institution's contingent risk.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned its AA-plus rating to New York state general obligation bonds in its first ever rating of the Empire State.

Small colleges are having a hard time but college mergers may help out, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Weekly municipal volume is set to increase to a three-month high, led by bond sales from the University of California and New York City.

For the week ended March. 5, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, moved up two basis points to 4.27% from 4.25% the previous week.

BlackRock, Inc. is expanding its iShares Exchange Traded Fund business with a municipal bond fund.

A bill designed to ease Detroit's first appearance in the public debt market since its bankruptcy sailed through a Michigan legislative committee and could come before the Senate next week.