Buy side

Nevada, Wyoming and Texas received high marks in a Morningstar report on how their state permanent fund programs affect credit analysis of individual bonds.

Volume numbers in the municipal bond market have shifted so far in 2013 to reflect a stronger start in new money issuance from recent years.

Philadelphia city officials have excluded the media from their investor conference, triggering objections from news outlets including The Bond Buyer.

Two large New Jersey revenue financings will make a grand entrance in the primary market with a variety of tax-exempt and taxable bonds this week, while a Texas airport offering may or may not have a smooth landing as it prepares to enter the market sporting a recent downgrade amid an estimated $7.22 billion of new volume, according to The Bond Buyer and Ipreo LLC.

Great rotation or not, more money hemorrhaged from municipal bond mutual funds as outflows occurred for the sixth straight week, at $631 million.

Inflows of $57.1 million entered the tax-exempt money market industry in the week ended April 8 and total net assets inched up to $273.12 billion, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The commonwealth's worsening fiscal crisis — underscored by a $2.5 billion fiscal year 2013 deficit — has made the decision to curtail ownership an easy one for some mutual fund managers who own troubled credits from the island, municipal experts said.

DBC software, which is now used for structuring roughly 90% of the annual negotiated municipal bond underwriting in the U.S., said it recently filled out a client list that includes the top-30 largest underwriters by volume in the marketplace.

The stage is set for another large and eventful week as issuers in California and Florida are preparing to thunder into the market with a pair of $2 billion deals that will share the new-issue spotlight after last week's well-received flurry of volume amid late week gains and bankruptcy news out of Stockton, Calif.

The municipal market has had a stronger week, overall. But it appears as though demand has yet to reflect that fact, with Lipper FMI reporting $278 million of outflows to muni bond mutual funds for the week ended April 3.

In what could have appeared as an April Fool's joke, but was rather a coincidence, tax-exempt money market funds lost $1.79 billion in the week ended April 1 -- the exact same amount they lost in the prior week.

After wrapping 4 bond issues in 2012, Build America Mutual Assurance Corporation has seen a significant increase in business during the first quarter of 2013, insuring 114 transactions.

Eaton Vance moved one step closer to offering a non-transparent, actively managed municipal exchange-traded fund.

Standard & Poor's has proposed new criteria for rating affordable multifamily housing bonds, which could result in downgrades of 10% of rated issues.

Municipal bond issuance tumbled for a second straight month on far fewer deals for less money. Long-term muni volume fell 12% in March against the same period one year earlier.

A pair of large state general obligation offerings will pump a generous amount of new volume into the municipal market this week where more than $4 billion in new volume is expected to be priced on the heels of a brisk, and mostly stronger holiday-shortened trading session last Friday.

Demand for municipal bonds fell modestly for the week of March 27, as the market saw outflows to muni bond mutual funds for the fourth straight week, at $43 million.

Tax-exempt money market experienced a week of net losses as $1.79 billion fled the industry and total net assets settled at $274.86 billion in the week ending March 25.

Though analysts and municipal managers said Tuesday's Standard & Poor's downgrade of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority was widely expected, the cut — the second experienced by one of the commonwealth's issuers in as many weeks — means more stress and concern for Puerto Rico bond holders, and could likely lead to less liquidity, wider spreads, and consequently, costlier trips to market.

Most non-profit hospitals are expected to find the 2% Medicare reimbursements cuts that take effect Monday manageable, Fitch Ratings says in a new report.