Buy side

Volume in the tax-exempt market should jump back to pre-holiday levels this week, despite several days of municipal bond underperformance in the face of a powerful rally in Treasuries.

Municipal bond expert Robert Doty says the risk of default for municipal bonds is concentrated in those that are dependent on private profit or nonprofit institutions’ performance.

Concerns about the euro zone hit Treasury yields a lot harder than any other factor moved their muni cousins. Municipal bond yields have fallen modestly on the week on the intermediate and long ends of the curve.

Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows during a holiday-shortened week and amid markedly outperforming Treasuries

Tax-exempt money market funds gave up last week’s short-lived cash flow as outflows of $1.80 billion dropped total net assets to $272.46 billion in the week ended May 28, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has launched an online guide designed to help retail investors better understand the municipal bond market and the roles and responsibilities of muni bond brokers.

Spring is in the air — and for muni investors that means the hunt is on to replace paper that will mature in June and July when more than $70 billion in coupon payments and proceeds from called and maturing bonds hits their accounts.

The two-day surge of new issuance this week did not sink the municipal bond market in a holiday-shortened week.

Tax-exempt money market funds retrieved some of the losses they suffered last week, as $1.47 billion of new cash flowed in and total net assets rose to $274.26 billion in the week ended May 21, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

A great upsurge in new issuance could not deter investors from allocating money into municipal bond mutual funds.

A takeover of bankrupt American Airlines by US Airways could bruise some airport credits, with the risks most acute for their hub facilities, Moody's Investors Service warned in a special commentary released Wednesday.

Analysts see various scenarios playing out for the U.S. municipal bond market should Greece exit the euro currency and default on its remaining debt.

WASHINGTON — States slowed their borrowing dramatically, with a growth of only 2.5% in 2011, despite low interest rates, according to a new Moody’s Investors Service report.

Volume in the municipal market is bulking up this week. The industry expects $9.19 billion to reach the primary, compared with $6.83 billion that arrived last week. And it should meet a degree of demand largely unscathed from last week’s slight backup.

The hunger for paper and search for yield in the municipal market reached their limits this week.

Some retail investors are being more cautious when shopping for tax-exempt bonds in Pennsylvania, but overall, that hasn't decreased the volume of trading in the state, according to local traders and underwriters.

Municipal bond mutual funds again posted solid inflows in a week of modest new issuance that saw a backup in yields.

The first inflows into tax-exempt money market funds in nearly a month were gone almost as quickly as they arrived when $2.17 billion exited in the week ended May 14, eroding much of last week’s gains, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Individual investors have been flocking to municipal bond funds, searching for safety and relatively high yields.

Retail investors continue to rank credit quality high at the top of their list of criteria when shopping for municipal securities, whether they be individual bonds or tax-exempt bond funds.