Buy side

Chicago plans a tax on water and sewer services to save its largest pension fund from insolvency, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced.

Mom and pop investors veered from recent buying patterns on new issues and bought longer-maturity bonds in order to get higher yields on the New York City GO deal – even if it meant accepting lower coupons, according to a New York City underwriter involved in the deal.

Jacksonville, Florida, is asking voters for a half-cent sales tax to help pay down nearly $3 billion in pension liabilities, but a recent lawsuit threatens to derail the referendum.

The high-yield sector probably is headed for a slowdown in the second half of the year, after outperforming for the first six months, municipal experts said.

Chicago is selling a positive budget message at its annual investor conference Wednesday, but the theme is obscured by the city’s pension albatross.

The Associated Press Municipal Bond Index, AP’s first branded financial markets index to be introduced since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, launched Monday in preparation for a wider rollout later this year.

Atlantic City has tapped financial advisors PFM Group and NW Financial to assist with its recovery plan needed to avoid state intervention.

Moody's Investors Service placed $18 billion of lease-backed, moral obligation and comparable debt on review.

The small Florida city of Opa-locka is on the verge of bankruptcy, according to the head of a state-appointed oversight board.

Poised for Growth, San Diego and Chicago-based fund manager Gurtin Fixed Income Management promoted Michael Johnson to co-CEO.