Investments

CHICAGO - The University of Notre Dame will enter the market as soon as today with $150 million of triple-A rated refunding revenue bonds in a relatively rare debt issuance for the prestigious Indiana Catholic university.

The trend of money moving into longer-term municipal bond mutual funds continued last week as the pace of inflows remained near historic highs by every measure.

DALLAS - The University of Texas System will offer risk-averse investors $250 million of triple-A rated Build America Bonds backed by the state's Permanent University Fund this week.

Supply-hungry investors will face a thin calendar of post-holiday fare as an estimated $2.99 billion is expected to enter the municipal market this week, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

DALLAS — A $250 million sale of Build America Bonds by the triple-A rated University of Texas System tops a light docket in the Lone Star state this holiday-shortened week.

CALIFORNIASan Francisco (City and County)Sep 2, 2009 . . . . . . $37,885,000

Closed-end municipal bond funds have come screaming back to life as the confluence of cheap financing costs and hearty long-term rates has bolstered dividends and lured investors to tax-equivalent yields of often 10% or more.

The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes declined this week, as gains on the long end of the municipal yield curve helped carry tax-exempts to a firmer footing, despite a quietening of activity ahead of the forthcoming three-day holiday weekend.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday revised its outlook for Gonzaga University’s debt to stable from negative, based largely on the its efforts to “significantly reduce” exposure to variable-rate debt.

Tax-exempt money market funds both saw outflows and set record-low yields for the week ending Aug. 31 on the heels of losing very little cash and yields remaining unchanged the previous week, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

CALIFORNIAJohn Swett Unified School DistrictSep 2, 2009 . . . . . . $6,001,175

ARKANSASEast Poinsett County School District No. 14 of Poinsett CountySep 2, 2009 . . . . . . $320,000

ALABAMAMacon CountyAug 19, 2009 . . . . . . $3,795,000

ARKANSASSiloam Springs School District No. 21 of Benton CountySep 1, 2009 . . . . . . $14,085,000

When Nassau County, N.Y., goes to market today with a $110 million competitive deal, it will follow a trend that has emerged since the creation this year of the taxable Build America Bonds program.

ALABAMAMadison (City)Aug 24, 2009 . . . . . . $51,110,000

NEW JERSEYGloucester TownshipAug 31, 2009 . . . . . . $1,352,000

ALABAMABrewton (City)Jul 29, 2009 . . . . . . $3,720,000

The tremendous sums of cash landing in municipal bond mutual funds have started hitting longer-term funds as investors reach for better yields and feel more comfortable with the outlook for inflation.

BlackRock Inc. made a big splash in the exchange-traded funds business this summer with its purchase of the investment unit of Barclays Global Investors, and analysts and executives are waiting for the next shoe to drop.