Buy side

Ahead of the April 15 income tax deadline this week, tax-exempt money market funds suffered outflows to the tune of $2.85 billion for the week ending April 14, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of imoneynet.com.

Nearly two dozen tax-exempt mutual funds were among those in the industry that received accolades for stellar historical performance by Lipper at its 2008 awards ceremony last week in New York City.

Weekly reporting municipal bond mutual funds had a net inflow of $345 million during the period ending April 9, AMG Data Services reported.

Although the largest new deal this week is $2 billion of taxable general obligation bonds from Connecticut, the calendar is also chock full of sizable new tax-exempt deals as the market makes room for an estimated $8.5 billion of competitive and negotiated volume.

The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes declined this week as a firmer tone persisted throughout the week, and yields in the municipal market dropped in nearly all the week's sessions.

For the first time ever, weekly assets of tax-free money market funds surpassed $500 billion as they soared to $504.8 billion for the week ending April 7, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of imoneynet.com.

Faced with one of the worst quarters for total return in the last five years, mutual fund managers said yield-curve positioning, proper credit selection, and risk aversion in the first quarter of 2008 were key to achieving top rankings - even as the universe of tax-exempt mutual funds totaling $131.7 billion was plagued by a negative 1.89% cumulative results for the three-month period ending Mar. 31, according to new data from Lipper Inc.

Weekly reporting municipal bond mutual funds had a net inflow of $333 million during the period ending April 2, AMG Data Services reported.

A billion-dollar deal in the Far West region and a bevy of new deals in the Northeast will lead this week's primary market calendar, which includes $6.68 billion of new volume compared with a revised $8.01 billion last week.

All The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes declined this week, as gains outweighed losses.

Tax-free money market funds achieved record asset growth for the week ending March 31, gaining $3.78 billion, up significantly from last week's $1.26 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneynet.com.

In an effort to give retail investors more accessibility, selectivity, and diversity when it comes to buying and trading fixed-income securities, Fidelity Investments has not only enhanced its online trading platform, but also significantly expanded its inventory of bonds through a new joint venture with TheMuniCenter LLC.

Weekly reporting municipal bond mutual funds had a net inflow of $368 million during the period ending March 26, AMG Data Services reported.

A $1.2 billion offering of New York City variable-rate demand bonds and $617 million of debt for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority lead the way in the primary market this week.

For the 11th consecutive year, the nation's commercial and savings banks experienced positive growth of their municipal bond portfolios in 2007 - increasing assets by 5.2% to $144.0 billion on a cost basis and by 4.3% to $144.9 billion on a fair-value basis over 2006 figures, according to new data from Highline Financial LLC.

Nearly all The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes increased this week, as yesterday's weakness provided some direction to what had otherwise been a sideways market for most of the week.

Tax-free money market funds continued to see positive growth for the week ending March 24, gaining $1.26 billion, down from last week's $5.22 billion increase, according to Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneynet.com.

It has been a shaky couple of months for retail municipal bond investors.

Tax-free money market funds continued to see positive growth for the week ending March 17, gaining $5.225 billion, though down from last week's $7.251 billion, according to Money Fund Report, a service of imoneynet.com.

Two $700 million offerings - one from the Utah Transit Authority and the other from Washington's Energy Northwest - and a $600 million deal from the Georgia State Road & Tollway Authority lead the way in the new-issue market this week, which will see a slight uptick in activity.