Buy side

Muriel Siebert likes municipal bonds.

The river of new money flowing into municipal bond mutual funds shows no sign of subsiding, rebounding the past two weeks after a brief dip at the beginning of the month.

With nearly $7 billion expected in the primary market this week, market participants said appetite for the flood of new issues is expected to be dictated by the pricing and structure of the deals.

Of all the risks facing owners of Build America Bonds, a spike in interest rates is one of the most alarming. Cumberland Advisors thinks it has found a way to neutralize this risk. The Vineland, N.J.-based firm is sympathetic to clients who are buffeted on both sides.

Nearly all of The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes increased this holiday-shortened week, as the municipal market mostly cheapened.

Following decreasing outflows last week, tax-exempt money market funds saw losses grow to $3.88 billion for the week ending Feb. 15 as they finished at $381.56 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Illinois and the Los Angeles Unified School District will share the limelight this week with each bringing a billion-dollar deal to market.

Near-zero yields on safe havens continue to feed municipal bond mutual funds.

A handful of states raised income tax rates last year — particularly on the wealthy — as tax receipts suffered a historic plunge.

The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes were narrowly mixed this week, with the municipal market remaining mostly flat as the tone varied throughout the past few sessions.

The rating agencies may be poised to give California bondholders a breather. The bond market is not.

Outflows of tax-exempt money market funds inched down to $2.17 billion and settled at $385.44 billion in total assets for the week ending Feb. 8, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

CHICAGO — Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service are maintaining their negative outlooks on the nonprofit health care sector, warning that the industry faces a slew of pressures ranging from risks associated with variable-rate debt to the uncertainty of national health care reform and the likelihood of state and federal reimbursement cuts over the next 12 to 18 months.

Moody’s Investors Service issued a report this week warning that it remains pessimistic about airports and is keeping a negative outlook based on expectations for the next 12 to 18 months.

In proposing to renew the Build America Bonds program, the Obama administration last week set an audacious goal: more benefit at the same cost.

Higher education, transportation, essential services, and Build America Bond offerings feature in the market this week as part of an estimated $5.36 billion in new volume, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

After slowing from the massive outflows of two weeks ago, the losses of tax-exempt money market funds inched up to $3.37 billion and total assets settled at $387.61 billion for the week ended Feb. 1, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The federal government expects to recoup through taxes most of the subsidies it pays on Build America Bonds, according to the federal budget released this week.

All The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes declined this week as the market firmed up in all the week’s sessions.

Stock market volatility is not the top item on the list of things municipal bond investors worry about.