Buy side

After two weeks of outflows, tax-free money market fund assets recouped some of those losses in the week ending Dec. 6, rising $3.41 billion to $328.97 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes increased this week as the absence of an extension of the Build America Bond program in a new tax bill led to two ­consecutive mid-week routs that brought 20-year yields to a 17-month high.

Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets LLC has hired James C. Johnson as its general counsel.

PFM Group announced last week that Robert W. Crispin, the former chairman and chief executive of ING Investment Management Americas, has joined its board of directors.

The exodus of cash from municipal bond mutual funds has slowed down as the November spike in yields attracted buyers back into the market, following a few frightening weeks of outflows.

In the wake of November’s hefty volume and the sell-off it helped precipitate, the market is poised for an estimated $12.11 billion of supply this week as issuers continue to race the clock against the impending expiration of the Build America Bonds program, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

This week didn’t exactly seem like an ideal time to float a tobacco bond.

Tax-exempt money market funds lost cash for a second straight week as investors withdrew $1.77 billion, leaving $325.56 billion in total net assets for the week ending Nov. 29, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes were mixed this week as tax-exempts erased early-week gains with Treasury-driven losses Wednesday and Thursday.

Issuers in the Midwest and Northeast are expected to serve up a meaty $11.27 billion of post-holiday fare in the municipal market this week, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer, as they hope to take advantage of last week’s firmness following recent supply and pricing ­volatility.

If the Build America Bond program expires at the end of this year, long-term tax-exempt bonds could lose their latest pillar of support.

A week after the biggest weekly outflow in history, municipal bond mutual funds this week reported the third-biggest.

After two steady weeks of inflows, tax-exempt money market funds fell a modest $158.5 million to $327.33 billion in total net assets for the week ending Nov. 22, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Nearly all The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes for long-term bonds declined during this holiday-shortened week, bouncing back from a significant sell-off that permeated the market since the start of the month.

Skittish investors withdrew a stunning $3.107 billion from municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Nov. 17 — the single worst week of outflows and the largest departure of cash in 10 years, according to weekly fund flow data from Lipper FMI.

The municipal market is expected to catch its collective breath this week as new volume tapers off by about $2.5 billion from the $7.25 billion that smothered the market last week, sparking a sell-off that sent benchmark yields to 15-month highs and caused the cancellation of a handful of deals, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

Anyone considering buying a taxable municipal bond might want to get a quote on some municipal credit-default swaps first.

The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes increased dramatically this week amid a supply-driven rout that persisted through Wednesday and prompted a number of issuers to postpone pricing.

Modest gains continued to boost tax-exempt money market funds for a second week in a row, as $403.7 million arrived during the week ending Nov. 15 to push total net assets to $327.49 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The story in the municipal bond market this month has been bleak. The story in the municipal bond exchange-traded fund ­market has been even bleaker.