Buy side

Standard & Poor’s is reassessing some existing ratings and deferring some new ones in certain sectors because of errors in its credit scoring models.

More than half of the top 50 local governments ranked by outstanding debt by Moody’s now have higher pension liabilities than debt, the rating agency said Friday.

Providence, R.I., Mayor Jorge Elorza said his city's three-notch upgrade from Fitch Ratings, to A-minus from BBB-minus, reflects a move in the right direction.

In the week ended Nov. 3, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell one basis point to 3.94% from 3.95% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

With the presidential election just days away, the potential impact on the municipal tax exemption, demand for public debt, and tax reform are among unresolved concerns for buy-side market participants.

Clarity Bidrate Alternative Trading System, a division of Arbor Research & Trading LLC that aims to rejuvenate the variable rate municipal market, has won its first new bond issue.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, rose one basis point to 3.95% in the week ended Oct. 27 from 3.94% in the previous week.

The not-for-profit healthcare sector is holding steady but may have peaked as persistent long-term challenges threaten to undercut gains that have bolstered margins, says S&P Global Ratings health care analyst J. Kevin Holloran.

A large drop in foreclosures through the first half of this year means lower loan losses for state housing finance agencies’ bond programs, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service.

Fixed income software provider Kalotay Analytics has licensed its patent-pending tax-neutral municipal bond valuation and risk analysis methodology to BlackRock.