Buy side

A fairly brisk new-issue calendar will usher in the last week of the November – highlighted by an $800 million Florida aviation offering – and municipal players say the deals will satisfy post-holiday demand on the heels of dwindling supply last week.

Tax-exempt money market funds were boosted by $3.68 billion of inflows – one of the single highest weekly increases of the year – as assets swelled to $271.78 billion in the week ended Nov. 19, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

A Chicago-based broker dealer has launched an electronic platform executives say will help ensure new-issue municipal bonds reach retail investors efficiently and at fair prices.

The municipal bond market will enter the Thanksgiving holiday from a position of strength. Muni bond indexes heading into the holiday fell on all but the short end to levels not seen in more than 47 years.

Moody's has told MBIA Inc. that it will consider downgrading bond-insurer National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation, parent-company MBIA Inc. and sister-company MBIA Corp.

The Thanksgiving holiday brings a light calendar this week from municipal bond issuers, at $2.25 billion, while investor demand remains considerable and yields hover at record lows.

Another strong week of inflows for municipal bond mutual funds indicated sustained heightened demand for munis. Funds that report their flows weekly recorded inflows of $706 million for the week ended Nov. 14.

Back-to-back holiday weeks combined with robust demand have kindled a strong rally in the municipal market and driven some muni bond indexes to levels they haven’t seen in more than 45 years.

An Alberta, Canada-based financial publisher seeking to streamline the investing experience for municipal bond buyers has acquired Municipalbonds.com.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded 27 grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds, totaling about $10 billion in par value.

The municipal market has seen falling yields, lighter supply and tightening credit spreads of late.

Though tax-exempt money market funds saw cash exit this week, the loss is relatively manageable given the heavy flows in the last two weeks.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Mischler Financial Group, Inc., a Service Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise, announced that it plans to contribute 10% of the firm’s November profits to the Wounded Warrior Project.

The credit quality for most municipal issuers who were affected by Hurricane Sandy is likely to remain unchanged, despite late debt service payments by four of them, according to a new report by Moody's Investors Service.

Moody's Investors Service says that the higher education sector was recently blessed with a credit positive but that the sector will experience mixed credit conditions in the next few years.

Municipals marked a day of rest following a torrid week of buying and record-setting yields as the bond markets closed for Veterans Day. Industry watchers said they were optimistic about investor demand and the overall state of the market.

The municipal market earned a day of rest after its torrid week of buying and record-setting yields. While the bond markets are closed for Veterans Day, industry watchers are optimistic about investor demand and the overall state of the market.

The municipal market, glad to mark the end to election-related uncertainty and hurricane-generated disruption, still has yet to reach seasonal average volumes. This week's calendar should total $7.61 billion.

The MSRB, to boost trade transparency, announced that the par amount of trades of less than $5 million will now be posted on the EMMA system in real time.

Municipal bonds scheduled for negotiated sale next week (Nov. 12-16, 2012) are estimated at $6,628.0 million, up from $3,686.9 million sold this week (Nov. 5-9, 2012).