Public finance

Municipal bond mutual funds saw a second straight week of inflows, and a sixth week out of seven.

Coming off three weeks of price losses, municipal bonds staged a decent rally this week despite a jump in supply and weakness in Treasuries.

Super downgrades remain rare events, but they reflect a more aggressive posture by the rating agencies, market observers say.

After recouping recent losses and ending a five-week trend of outflows, tax-exempt money market funds lost $2.50 billion for the week ended Oct. 17, as total net assets dropped to $288.10 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

ARKANSASJessieville School District No. 1 of Garland CountyOct 19, 2011 . . . . . . $1,860,000

ALABAMAHenry County Health Care AuthorityOct 19, 2011 . . . . . . $2,530,000

ARKANSASEast End School District No. 1 of Perry CountyOct 18, 2011 . . . . . . $1,780,000

ALABAMACentreville Water Works And Sewer BoardOct 18, 2011 . . . . . . $4,140,000

Proposals to limit the tax-exemption on municipal bonds get short shrift from the majority of market participants, but some state and local government experts on Tuesday seemed resigned to the notion that tax-reform efforts will inevitably do just that.

IOWAJohnston (City)Oct 17, 2011 . . . . . . $8,570,000

CALIFORNIACalifornia Statewide Communities Development AuthorityOct 17, 2011 . . . . . . $2,000,000

Market participants are still grappling with the pros and cons of the growing direct purchase sector for tax-exempt bonds.

ARKANSASSalem Water Users Association Public Water AuthorityOct 14, 2011 . . . . . . $14,640,000

Table as of: 10/18/2011 12:07 PM Invisible Supply Issuer and purpose Amount

CHICAGO - A weak real estate market continues to plague the long-troubled senior living sector, though providers have enjoyed some stabilization in the last year, Standard & Poor's said in a new report.

For all the talk of credit issues driving the municipal bond market this year, only a minority of participants actually cite it as a top determinant.

Though municipal yields are rising across the curve from September's record lows, issuers are bringing more debt to market. A total of $6.68 billion is expected in the primary this week, up from last week's revised $4.49 billion.

ARKANSASStephens School District No. 13 of Ouachita CountyOct 13, 2011 . . . . . . $925,230

ARIZONAPage (City)Oct 12, 2011 . . . . . . $11,730,000

The sell-off over the past two weeks has brought municipal bond prices to levels that, apparently, are more acceptable to investors. Consequently, muni bond mutual funds saw inflows, after a week of outflows.