Public finance

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.

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

ARKANSASFayetteville School District No. 1 of Washington CountySep 21, 2010 . . . . . . $3,570,000

ARKANSASVilonia Waterworks AssociationSep 21, 2010 . . . . . . $2,480,000

A fund devoted to investing in Build America Bonds would have a tough time avoiding debt backed by the states of California and Illinois altogether. Eaton Vance is doing its best.

IOWAOrange City (City)Sep 20, 2010 . . . . . . $1,500,000

IOWAIowa Western Community CollegeSep 20, 2010 . . . . . . $15,450,000

Hospitals, universities and other not-for-profit issuers are enjoying exceptionally low ­borrowing costs and rampant demand for their debt. The only problem is it is not likely to last forever.

WASHINGTON — Mega muni investor Peter Kuhn is bullish on muni bonds, but says investors should be very careful about what they buy and issuers should provide more timely and informative secondary market information.

MISSISSIPPIPelahatchieSep 15, 2010 . . . . . . $950,000

ALABAMAChatom Industrial Development BoardSep 17, 2010 . . . . . . $74,645,000

State and local governments’ outstanding debt shrank in the second quarter of 2010 for the first time in nearly 10 years as many of the facilities established during the prerefunding craze last decade matured.

The sell-off in municipal bonds finally appeared to sap some retail demand for state and local government debt last week as muni mutual funds reported taking in the paltriest amount of new money in six weeks.

A pair of billion-dollar deals — one in Texas and the other in Utah — will be part of an estimated $7.92 billion expected to be priced in the primary market this week, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer. The mammoth deals will help pump some life into what has recently been a lackluster municipal market that’s short on volume.

ARKANSASFarmington School District No. 6 of Washington CountySep 16, 2010 . . . . . . $750,000

ALABAMAMonroe County Public Building AuthoritySep 13, 2010 . . . . . . $7,040,000

Most of The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes declined slightly, as the longer end of the curve ended the week flat to slightly firmer while the short end lost ground.

Tax-exempt money market funds slipped $1.08 billion to $337.07 billion for the week ending Sept. 13 after experiencing their first inflows in nearly a month the week before, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

ARKANSASHoratio School District No. 55 of Sevier CountySep 15, 2010 . . . . . . $1,715,000

ALASKAAlaskaSep 14, 2010 . . . . . . $171,060,000