Investments

While municipal market professionals said they do not believe there is systemic risk in state and local government debt, there are underlying issues and credit challenges.

The presidents of Oklahoma’s two largest universities last week asked proponents of a constitutional amendment that would boost state aid to K-12 public education to stop using the schools’ logos in a television advertisement.

Colorado Mountain College president Stan Jensen said last week that passage of Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 and 61 in November could cause a large increase in tuition and delay the school’s plans for a new four-year degree program.

Table as of: 09/24/2010 13:32 PM Invisible Supply Issuer and purpose Amount* Approval

KENTUCKYBarbourville Independent School District Finance CorporationSep 24, 2010 . . . . . . $935,000

ARIZONAPima County Industrial Development AuthoritySep 24, 2010 . . . . . . $10,000,000

The return of bank profitability coupled with some of the provisions of the federal stimulus coaxed banks into buying state and local government debt in the first half of the year.

As the third quarter begins to wind down this week, long-term volume is expected to improve slightly, with several significantly sized deals from state and local governments contributing to $9.42 billion in estimated new issuance earmarked for pricing in the primary market, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

The stream of cash running into municipal bond mutual funds continued to taper slightly last week.

ARKANSASFlippin School District No. 26 of Marion CountySep 23, 2010 . . . . . . $2,260,000

ALABAMAPhenix City (City)Sep 23, 2010 . . . . . . $33,940,000

The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes declined this week as the municipal market rallied behind the economic warning the Federal Open Market Committee sounded Tuesday to end a weeks-long pattern of losses.

Pacific Investment Management Co.’s newest exchange-traded fund drags the active-versus-passive management debate into the taxable municipal bond space.

Outflows among tax-exempt money market funds more than doubled in the week ending Sept. 20 when $2.71 billion exited the funds and total net assets settled at $334.36 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Table as of: 09/22/2010 16:15 PM Invisible Supply Issuer and purpose Amount* Approval

ARKANSASCedarville School District No. 44 of Crawford CountySep 22, 2010 . . . . . . $930,000

ALASKAAlaska Housing Finance CorporationSep 21, 2010 . . . . . . $78,810,000

The Basel III bank capital requirements proposed earlier this month threaten to eviscerate the supply of eligible investments for tax-free money market funds — an industry already struggling with a severe supply shortage.

The new slate of bond counsel firms announced Wednesday by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York includes three teams pairing large firms with smaller minority-owned firms.

Table as of: 09/21/2010 15:38 PM Invisible Supply Issuer and purpose Amount* Approval