Buy side

In the event that Moody's Investors Service strips the U.S. sovereign credit of its gilt-edged rating, top-rated state and local governments would be more at risk of a downgrade than similarly rated corporate or structured finance products.

On the heels of modest outflows last week, tax-exempt money market funds lost $4.66 billion and settled with $302.07 billion in total net assets for the week ended June 27, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The Navajo Nation is quietly planning to access the capital markets for the first time in its history within the coming six months.

Investors unhappy with low yields but not convinced of the merit in buying lower-graded muni credits to retain cash flow might be more attracted to another simple strategy: buy longer ­paper.

Investors put municipal bond mutual fund flows back in the black this past week. High-yield muni funds continued their strong performance.

The municipal bond market will see $5.6 billion of new issuance this week, with two $1 billion dollar deals topping the charts. Issuance is down from last week's revised $5.8 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

WASHINGTON - Amid a lackluster housing market, additional downgrades of military base projects and budgetary uncertainty, adjustment was the theme Thursday at The Bond Buyer's sixth annual military housing privatization conference.

Tax-exempt money market funds continued to bleed cash as investors withdrew $972.6 million and total net assets declined to $306.73 billion in the week ended June 20, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Corporate turnaround firms are known for rescuing companies on the brink of collapse in corporate America and on Wall Street, but lately some of them say they are putting more time and energy toward helping distressed state and local governments.

Bondholders, rating agencies and financial advisers may have never heard of the city of Portent Falls, but that's because it is the fictional municipality whose contentious bankruptcy case will be the focus of a free workshop aimed at bringing the financial, legal and negotiating issues of a major muni restructuring to light.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The fiscal distress in Jefferson County has elicited renewed calls from a financial analyst for investors to be cautious when buying debt sold by issuers from Alabama.

With tax-exempt yields at or near 2011 lows, investors have been balking at stingy nominal yields in recent weeks. But ­strategists say buying ­opportunities abound for those willing to buy lower-rated bonds.

Investors this past week returned to their acquired habit of pulling money out of municipal bond mutual funds.

The municipal market can expect about $5 billion in new issuance this week, making it the third week in a row to see volume at that relatively subdued level. Last week saw a revised $5.11 billion, following a revised $7.8 billion the week before.

After pulling in $2.98 billion last week, tax-exempt money market funds lost $1.84 billion and settled with $307.71 billion in total net assets for the week ended June 13, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes suggest the municipal market remains healthy heading into summer. Indexes were steady or a bit firmer this week even as the market digested more supply in the first two weeks of June than any comparable other period in 2011.

The hemorrhaging of cash from municipal bond mutual funds finally stopped in the week ended June 8.

The municipal market can expect $5.22 billion in new issuance this week, with issuers in Los Angeles and Utah leading the way with deals in excess of $600 million.

Numbers from the Federal Reserve's flow of funds for the first quarter this year place total muni bond debt at $2.905 trillion. That compares to $2.925 trillion in the last quarter of 2010, according to Fed numbers, and $2.843 trillion over the same period last year.

Municipal bond index yields fell modestly over the week. Rates measured by the one-year note, as well as 11- and 20-year bond indexes slipped by up to two basis points.