Investments

DALLAS - The College of Santa Fe is on the verge of closing and defaulting on $30 million of debt after a year of efforts to save New Mexico's oldest private university.

IOWACentral City (City)Jun 10, 2009 . . . . . . $900,000

CALIFORNIACalifornia Health Facilities Financing AuthorityJun 11, 2009 . . . . . . $139,565,000

On the heels of the minor weakness that crept into both the short and long ends of the municipal market late last week and the glut of new supply that investors digested, this week's primary market again calls for a generous slate of new issues that will continue to test buyers' appetites.

Investors continued to lavish heaps of cash on municipal bond mutual funds last week as people shrugged off the surge in Treasury yields and kept taking more risk.

The University of Maryland expects to take bids for $144 million of revenue bonds on Tuesday with a portion of the deal pricing as Build America Bonds.

Standard & Poor’s revised its credit outlook on Howard University to negative as the school and its affiliated hospital have suffered operating losses.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Confusion over the outlook for the rating of the Alabama Public School and College Authority may have contributed to the failure of the refunding and new-money deal to sell last week, several market players said on Friday.

ARKANSASFayetteville School District No. 1 of Washington CountyJun 11, 2009 . . . . . . $8,950,000

ALABAMAStevenson Utilities BoardJun 10, 2009 . . . . . . $3,360,000

Mitchell Savader’s job is to stay one step ahead of the rating agencies.

The Bond Buyer’s yield indexes climbed this week as tax-exempt yields edged higher against a large new-issue calendar and a weakening Treasury market.

The municipal bond market grew in the first quarter at a slower pace than in pre-crisis years as the industry coped with a severe recession and life without bond insurance.

Reversing the trend of the last two weeks, tax-free money market funds gained $228.3 million and settled at $465.89 billion in total assets for the week ending June 8, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

ALABAMAClay County Board of EducationJun 9, 2009 . . . . . . $6,220,000

ARIZONADysart Unified School District No. 89Jun 10, 2009 . . . . . . $6,340,000

ARKANSASCleveland County School DistrictJun 9, 2009 . . . . . . $320,000

MINNESOTAFinlayson (City)Jun 8, 2009 . . . . . . $445,000

High-quality municipal bonds do not default. That has been the paradigm for several decades.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Alabama Public School and College Authority tomorrow plans to competitively sell $324.4 million of refunding and new capital improvement bonds.