Buy side

Standard & Poor's upgraded Miami's general obligation bond ratings to A-plus from BBB citing the city's improved financial management practices and budget flexibility.

Two municipal strategists are taking different roads to minimize risk while adding value in a market fraught with uncertainty over interest rates.

If yields continue to rise, more deals could be pulled in the upcoming week

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was unchanged from the previous week at 4.12%, for the week ended Feb. 5.

Airport management's flexibility and experience are key factors in rating a facility's general revenue bonds, Kroll says.

Yield-hungry investors should be wary of indulging in triple-B bonds in the current municipal market when looking for extra yield as they are fully valued relative to high-quality bonds, according to Dorian Jamison, municipal analyst at Wells Fargo Advisors.

Issuance is expected to approach $9 billion in the coming week as February brings a $1 billion Pennsylvania competitive general obligation offering that was postponed because of the Jan. 26-27 blizzard in the Northeast.

For the week ended Jan. 29, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, dropped one basis point to 4.12% from 4.13%.

Lumesis said it's forming a strategic partnership with Bitvore Corp. to provide the market with a single platform that eases access to up-to-date data on material changes in municipal bond issuers and obligors.

The trustee for the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority's defaulted bonds wants a toll increase for the Garcon Point Bridge but north Florida residents are opposing the plan.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded healthcare giant Catholic Health Inititiatives to A2 from A1 after a year of declining operating performance.

Some seldom seen issuers are returning to the municipal bond market in the upcoming week as sales slip slightly. Total new issue volume is estimated at $6.138 billion for the week, according to Ipreo and The Bond Buyer. This is down from the $6.992 billion of new supply that priced last week, Thomson Reuters said.

In the shadow of the biggest Wall Street empires, Hennion & Walsh has managed to thrive for a quarter of a century.

California's long-term ratings from all rating agencies could hit double-A levels if current conditions continue, according to a Municipal Market Analytics report.

Municipal volume is forecasted to rise in the holiday-shortened week, with three of the four biggest deals tied to oil.

The Government Finance Officers Association is levelling strong criticism at Moody's Investors Service for failing to provide its credit ratings to EMMA and urging the agency to do so.

Short term municipal bonds, after posting negative returns in December, may still have value as an alternative to staying in cash while waiting for the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates.

Muni Bond Indexes Strengthen Again in Latest Week

Standard & Poor's maintains a negative outlook on the nonprofit higher education sector in 2015.

Analysts attribute the spate of municipal bankruptcies since 2011 to the aftereffects of the 2008 credit crisis and Great Recession, as well as changing attitudes about debt.