Buy side

Minnesota heads into the market Tuesday with its annual summer sale, bolstered by the restoration of one of its triple-A ratings.

In the week ended July 28, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index rose one basis points to 3.80% from 3.79% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

Boosted by new grant funding, the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, led by new executive director Michael Belsky, wants to raise its voice on municipal finance research and education.

Detroit, already facing headwinds with its first post-bankruptcy general obligation/distributable state aid backed sale, could suffer some spill due to the state’s disruption of a similar security on some of Detroit Public Schools' bonds, one municipal market participant suggested.

Strong municipal performance, supply scarcity, and seasonal factors will draw retail investors to New York City's $860 million general obligation sale.

Lackluster investment returns reported by some of the nation's largest public pension funds signal intensifying fiscal pressure on U.S. state and local governments, Moody's Investment Service said Tuesday.

Chicago isn’t on the “brink” of a financial collapse that could drive a default or bankruptcy but its pension fixes to date fall far short of stabilizing the city’s fiscal foundation, an analyst said.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, gained five basis points to 3.79% from 3.74% in the previous week.

Municipal investors should be prepared for the eventual departure of non-traditional and international buyers from the sector, Regions Investment Management said in a new report.

Mississippi absorbed a downgrade from Fitch Ratings, which cited weaker-than-expected .performance and criteria changes in lowering its issuer default and general obligation ratings one notch to AA.