Buy side

Pension funding bonds are more likely to hurt, rather than help, the credit of the state or local government issuing them, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service.

Janney Capital Markets said in a report this week that the spreads on single family housing finance agency bonds are attractive, given reduced concerns of credit risk.

Upholding a recent downward trend that began in early 2011, the household sector continued to pare its holdings of municipal debt in the third quarter, declining by $65.9 billion, or 3.6%, to $1.75 trillion, one of its lowest levels of ownership since 2008, according to new data released last week by the Federal Reserve Board.

Lumesis, Inc. has launched a new product that aims to provide municipal market professionals with easy, cost-effective access to comprehensive bond reports.

December issuance sticks to form as the muni bond market should expect a hefty calendar this week, to the tune of an anticipated $11.61 billion of total volume.

After a difficult few years, municipal floating rate notes are regaining a foothold in the market.

State Housing Finance Agency delinquency rates continue to rise despite an improving housing market, Moody's reports.

Municipal bond mutual funds recorded their fifth straight week of inflows, and their 62nd week of positive flows in the past 66 weeks.

The Municipal Bond Club of New York announced its new officers for the coming year.

Many in the municipal market saw this week as the right time to dump inventory and dive into what is one of the last large calendars of the year.

Total net assets among tax-exempt money market funds saw cash generation again this week, accumulating $757.5 million, which was more than last week's inflows.

For 2013 Fitch Ratings has more negative than positive outlooks on state and tax-supported local governments.

The week's largest deals have arrived to give the municipal market a year-end feel. As expected, investors are feeding at the new-issue trough and largely ignoring the secondary.

With an eye on growing its public finance business, New York City-based broker-dealer Lebenthal & Co. LLC has hired William Ludolph to head its municipal underwriting efforts.

A quiet trading session precedes a hefty primary calendar in the municipal market Tuesday.

Investors, waiting for the coming calendar and armed with cash were expected to light up the secondary market with activity this week, but instead, traders report that all has been quiet on the buying front.

A bump in anticipated primary volume should spur the municipal market for the first week of December. But while the market gears up for the coming deals, Monday's session has started flat.

A pair of New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority offerings totaling more than $1 billion will dominate the primary market this week amid an array of other sizable offerings from Texas, Colorado, and New York.

Hurricane Sandy and a presidential election helped to pare municipal bond issuance by 20% for the month of November, breaking from the surging volume numbers that have dominated most of 2012.

After amassing more than $3 billion last week, tax-exempt money market funds stayed in postitive territory -- albeit only by $260.5 million in the week ended Nov. 26 as total net assets settled at $272.04 billion, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.