Buy side

The Cook County Clerk’s office has reversed course and signed off on the validity of Harvey, Ill.’s property tax levy request, raising hopes that the city will make good on bond payments.

Atlantic City, N.J., averted default Monday by making a $1.8 million debt service payment, but it’s far from certain the struggling city can make other such payments this year.

Demand for municipal bonds has been so strong in 2016 that not even the arrival of income tax season could put a stopper on the flow of money into the industry.

As Pennsylvania lawmakers debate Gov. Tom Wolf's proposed $32 billion fiscal 2017 spending plan, many municipal analysts view the state's prospects in a negative light.

For the 30th week in a row, municipal bond funds reported inflows, according to Lipper data released Thursday, as demand for tax-exempts remained high through tax season.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, rose two basis points to 3.96% from 3.94% in the previous week.

State budget conditions vary widely as of late fiscal 2016, with the overall picture getting better while states with less diversified economies face significant stress, Standard & Poor's said Wednesday.

West Palm Beach, Fla.’s plan to borrow $60 million in taxable bonds to boost its already 83% funded police pension plan received divergent views from market experts.

Florida bond director Ben Watkins does not believe public-private partnerships that include private financing benefit the public sector, but P3 proponents disagree.

California is the least prepared to weather a recession of the four most populous states, according to a Moody’s Investors Service fiscal stress test.

Invesco’s Mark Paris is sticking with a strategy of maintaining diversity, liquidity, and credit selectivity in the essential service revenue, lower investment-grade, and nonrated sectors.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was unchanged from 3.94% in the previous week.

While the key oil production states of Oklahoma, North Dakota and California have all been hit hard by the drop in crude oil prices, the impact varies at both the state and local government level, Moody’s Investors Service says.

Interactive Data’s continuous evaluated fixed-income pricing and liquidity Indicators service are now available to FactSet clients, the firms said Tuesday.

Fitch released revised criteria about how it rates tax-supported state and local government credits.

For the 28th week in a row, municipal bond funds reported inflows, according to Lipper data released Thursday.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, dropped four basis points to 3.94% from 3.98% in the previous week.

A spike in the SIFMA municipal swap index is making the short-end of the municipal bond yield curve unusually attractive.

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, floated an alternative proposal aimed at saving Atlantic City from insolvency that sets additional benchmarks for the distressed gambling hub before his previously-proposed state intervention would take effect.

UMB Bank N.A., the bond trustee for Texas Pellets, accelerated the outstanding debt on $186.5 million of bonds due to a default at the company owned by German Pellets, which filed for insolvency in February.