Public finance

Skittish investors withdrew a stunning $3.107 billion from municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Nov. 17 — the single worst week of outflows and the largest departure of cash in 10 years, according to weekly fund flow data from Lipper FMI.

The municipal market is expected to catch its collective breath this week as new volume tapers off by about $2.5 billion from the $7.25 billion that smothered the market last week, sparking a sell-off that sent benchmark yields to 15-month highs and caused the cancellation of a handful of deals, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

CALIFORNIABerkeley Unified School DistrictNov 18, 2010 . . . . . . $11,500,000

ARIZONAYavapai County Industrial Development AuthorityNov 18, 2010 . . . . . . $40,000,000

Anyone considering buying a taxable municipal bond might want to get a quote on some municipal credit-default swaps first.

The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes increased dramatically this week amid a supply-driven rout that persisted through Wednesday and prompted a number of issuers to postpone pricing.

Modest gains continued to boost tax-exempt money market funds for a second week in a row, as $403.7 million arrived during the week ending Nov. 15 to push total net assets to $327.49 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

CALIFORNIANicasio Elementary School DistrictNov 17, 2010 . . . . . . $2,440,000

ARKANSASPine Bluff (City)Nov 17, 2010 . . . . . . $3,350,000

ARIZONAGlendale (City)Nov 16, 2010 . . . . . . $38,300,000

COLORADOColorado Educational and Cultural Facilities AuthorityNov 16, 2010 . . . . . . $9,865,000

ILLINOISDecatur (City)Nov 15, 2010 . . . . . . $1,805,000

ARIZONAFlorence Industrial Development AuthorityNov 15, 2010 . . . . . . $6,665,000

The story in the municipal bond market this month has been bleak. The story in the municipal bond exchange-traded fund ­market has been even bleaker.

Fitch Ratings expects municipal defaults to remain isolated events, according to a report the rating agency plans to release today.

IOWAKeokuk (City)Nov 10, 2010 . . . . . . $4,225,000

ALABAMAChatom Industrial Development BoardNov 12, 2010 . . . . . . $32,340,000

Table as of: 11/12/2010 15:39 PM Invisible Supply Issuer and purpose Amount* Approval

Standard & Poor’s knocked almost half the tobacco bond universe down to junk on Thursday as it surmised many of these structures would not be able to withstand a severe cutback in smoking.

Cash-strapped California is poised to dominate the municipal arena this week with two separate offerings that account for 85% of the estimated $14.11 billion in new volume expected in the long-term market, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.