The Bond Buyer articles from September 2003

The Bond Buyer archives from September 2003

SEC Notifies Heartland Group Of Pending Enforcement Action.
September 2, 2003... The Securities and Exchange Commission staff has notified Heartland Group Inc., a subsidiary, and several associated individuals that they intend to recommend that the SEC take enforcement action against them for alleged violations of the...

The Digest.
September 2, 2003... Municipal bonds were little changed with some weakness in spots Friday, reflecting a decline in Treasuries ahead of the long Labor Day weekend. Complete market coverage by Nicholas Chesla and Anastasija Johnson appears on page 2 News ...

Deal May Free United Funds for Debt Service.
September 2, 2003... Bankrupt United Airlines and the trustees on two of its special facilities bond issues have reached an agreement that would free up portions of roughly $37 million in construction funds to help cover past-due debt service payments. The...

August Volume Takes a Dip: Rising Yields Delay Sales; New Money Down.
September 2, 2003... Some reticent borrowers may be anxiously looking on right now, silently lamenting their missed opportunity to tap the markets before yields gradually inched up over the past month. A climb in yields led issuers in the municipal market to...

Friday's Market: Munis End Flat Ahead of Holiday; Treasuries Fall on Economic Data.
September 2, 2003... Municipal bonds were little changed with some weakness in spots Friday, reflecting a decline in Treasuries ahead of the long Labor Day weekend. Governments fell, paring earlier losses, while equities rose. Treasuries slid earlier when the...

News In Brief: July Income +0.2%; Personal +0.8%.
September 2, 2003... Personal income increased 0.2% and consumption expenditures rose 0.8% in July, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Personal income increased $19.4 billion to slightly less than $9.23 trillion, after a revised 0.4% gain in June, first...

News In Brief: NAPM-NY'S BCI Slips To 221.7 in August.
September 2, 2003... The National Association of Purchasing Management-New York's business conditions index fell 1.4% to 221.7 in August from an unrevised 224.9 reading in July. The BCI is the NAPM-NY's principal gauge of current business activity in New York City....

News In Brief: U. Of Mich. Final Aug. Index Falls to 89.3.
September 2, 2003... The University of Michigan's final August consumer sentiment index fell to 89.3, from the preliminary August level of 90.9, according to market sources. Economists polled by IFR BondData America had predicted a final reading of 90.7 for the...

News In Brief: Chicago PMI Rises To 58.9 In August.
September 2, 2003... The Chicago purchasing manager's index rose to 58.9 in August from 55.9 in July, the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago said Friday. The data is compiled on a seasonally adjusted basis. An index reading below 50 signals a slowing...

Moody's Places Cicero, N.Y., and Its LDC on Watch for Downgrade.
September 2, 2003... Moody's Investors Service Friday placed its Baa2 rating on the Cicero Local Development Corp. and the A3 general obligation rating for Cicero, N.Y., on watch list for a potential downgrade. The rating action affects $15.25 million in Series...

North Texas Tollway Agency Readies $107 Million Refunding.
September 2, 2003... The North Texas Tollway Authority will go to market with $107 million of refunding revenue bonds this week, bringing its total issuance for the year to more than $465 million. The Series 2003C bonds are part of a major restructuring of more...

California Water District Set to Issue $200 Million.
September 2, 2003... The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is set to sell $200 million of water revenue bonds in a negotiated deal Thursday, with plans for more new-money issuance in the next two years. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is senior...

The Week Ahead: N.Y.-N.J. Port's $300 Million Deal Leads Another Slow Week.
September 2, 2003... Returning today from the long Labor Day weekend, traders, underwriters, and investors will have to grin and bear another week or two of seasonally sluggish activity before the market resumes its regular trading pace in mid-September. After...

CBC: Recent N.Y., N.Y.C. Deficit Bond Issuance Will Cost $5.7 Billion.
September 2, 2003... New York and New York City will ring up an estimated $5.7 billion in interest costs from its recent sales of bonds to finance operating costs, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. According to Douglas Offerman, senior research...

Deal in Focus: Texas Tech Regents Selling $110 Million for Classrooms.
September 2, 2003... The Texas Tech University Board of Regents will go to market this week with approximately $110 million of revenue financing system bonds that will pay for classrooms at both of the university's medical campuses, as well as academic classrooms...

ARKANSAS: Reform Advocates.
September 2, 2003... A child advocacy group calling itself Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families last week released a proposal for school finance reform that would include increases in the state's income, severance pay, and sales taxes, with some relief...

KANSAS: Wichita WaterWalk.
September 2, 2003... Wichita's public-private partnership to develop a $130 million river walk on the east bank of the Arkansas River is showing signs of strain, with city officials demanding more money from developers before issuing new debt. Private...

KANSAS: Underfunded PERS.
September 2, 2003... The underfunded portion of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System has grown to $2.8 billion, with teachers and state employees accounting for $2.2 billion, legislators learned last week. While the Legislature in its last session...

OKLAHOMA: Voters' Laundry List.
September 2, 2003... With statewide elections still to come, voters took care of a number of local matters in recent elections. In Muskogee County, voters in Keefeton decided they did not want to live in an official town, rejecting incorporation. Tax...

TEXAS: Overseas Expansion.
September 2, 2003... The Port of Houston Authority International Corp. last week signed a deal with the Port of Guanta in Venezuela to lead a consulting team that will work to improve facilities and services at the Venezuelan port through funding from the U.S....

TEXAS: School Loans.
September 2, 2003... Pending the release of state funds next month, Westlake officials agreed last week to float a loan of $200,000 to the town's new charter school for start-up operational costs. Westlake made the loan because of a state policy that mandates a...

TEXAS: Mobility Study.
September 2, 2003... The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which in the next five years is expected to issue as much as $300 million of toll revenue bonds to finance new toll roads in and around Austin, last week approved a $6.8 million feasibility study...

People: Bond Buyers Demanding More Info, Says S&P's Bill Montrone.
September 2, 2003... Today's municipal bond market bears little resemblance to the market of more than 20 years ago, when Bill Montrone, managing director and head of the U.S. public finance group at Standard & Poor's Credit Market Services, began his foray into...

NEW-ISSUE VOLUME NOTES.
September 2, 2003... The new-issue volume tables are based on information compiled by The Bond Buyer from Thomson Financial's data base on Friday, August 29, 2003. All figures are preliminary and subject to revision. Long-term bonds have final stated...

LONG-TERM BONDS: January-August.
September 2, 2003... 2003 2002 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $254,396,400 9,505 $226,177,100 9,482 +12.5 % January 27,022,400 949 21,790,700 ...

LARGEST ISSUES: August 2003.
September 2, 2003... Amount Issuer Date $1,160.4 California Infrastructure & Economic Development Bank, bridges Aug 6 1,052.0 Jefferson County, Ala., water & sewer (ref) Aug 5 986.3 Chicago, Ill., airports (AMT/TE) Aug 13...

LONG-TERM BONDS: August.
September 2, 2003... 2003 2002 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $21,798,500 828 $31,585,800 1,255 -31.0 % Development 242,800 11 318,900 53 ...

BOND SALES BY STATE: January-August.
September 2, 2003... 2003 2002 State Rank Volume Rank Volume Pct Chg Alabama 25 $2,850,400 27 $2,379,800 +19.8 % Alaska 34 1,287,200 36 1,235,200 +4.2 Arizona 14 4,647,800 12 4,967,800 -6.4...

Market Indicators.
September 2, 2003... Dollar amounts are in millions Day's 2003 2003 Daily Yesterday Change High Date Low Date Municipal Bond Index 107-06 -1/32 115-28 (6/13) 105-22 (7/31) 40 Average Dollar Price 98.11...

Municipal Market Data General Obligation Yields.
September 2, 2003... Aaa Aaa (pure) (ins) Aa A Baa 2004 1.05 1.09 1.10 1.36 1.83 2008 2.69 2.77 2.75 3.14 3.64 2013 3.95 4.06 4.04 4.47 4.93 2018 4.46 4.58 4.56 4.94 5.41...

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Yields.
September 2, 2003... Aug 29, 2003 Aug 28, 2003 Aug 30, 2002 Selected MIG-1/SP-1+ Notes California Raws Ser A 2s (MIG-1) (June 04) 1.72 1.70 1.24 Los Angeles Co Trans 2s (June 04) 1.08 1.05 1.28 Texas Trans 2s (Aug 04) 1.15 ...

U.S. Securities Prices.
September 2, 2003... Prices as of 2 p.m. ET. Source: GovPx Inc. Treasury Bills Yesterday's Prev. Day's Yesterday's (in percent of discount) Bid/Offer Bid/Offer Bid Yield 1M -- 9/25/2003 0.965/955 0.925/965 0.982 3M --...

Placement Ratio.
September 2, 2003... No. Total Amt. Sales from Placement New New Accts. New Accts. Ratio Accts. ($000s) ($000s) (%) 2003 08/29 15 609,477 598,462 98.2 08/22 10 470,011 450,961 95.9 08/15 ...

General Obligation Bond Prices for August 29, 2003.
September 2, 2003... Intermediate Long-Term Bond and Ratings (Moody's/S&P's/Fitch) Dated Cpn &Maturity Yield Price Prev Chg Cpn &Maturity Yield Price Prev Chg STATES California Series 2002 (A3/BBB/A) 10/1/02 4%...

Visible Supply.
September 2, 2003... Competitive Negotiated Total ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) Weekly Averages 8/29/03 2,240,672 1,880,005 4,120,677 8/22 1,606,299 2,922,497 4,528,796 8/15 1,594,823 3,202,171 ...

Municipal Market Yields.
September 2, 2003... Values at 8/29/2003 -- Basis Point Change from 8/22/2003 Aaa Aa A Baa 2004 1.03 -01 1.17 -01 1.41 -01 1.75 -01 2008 2.72 +02 2.87 +02 3.13 +02 3.42 +02 2013 4.01 +03 ...

Reoffering Yields.
September 2, 2003... NRO - Not Reoffered; S.B. - Sealed Bid; SNA - Sold, Not Available Offer Amount Date ($Mil) RECENT OFFERINGS 1 Year 5 10 15 20 25 30 Aaa -- AAA 7/21 3.6 Prairiland I.S.D., Tex. (PSF gtd.) 1.00 2.55 3.60 ... ... ...

Municipal Bond Index Update.
September 2, 2003... The list of bonds used to calculate the Municipal Bond Index was revised after the August 29 pricing. The new coefficient is 1.0162. It was derived by dividing the August 29 index (107.180456) by the average converted price of the new...

New-Issue Balances.
September 2, 2003... (,000 Omitted) * Since initial reoffering + Revised upward since last report Amount Date RECENT OFFERINGS Sold Balance $10,500 7/2 Pine Bluff Sch. Dist. #3, Ark. $3,700 All Sold 13,360 ...

Municipal Bond Index.
September 2, 2003... Yesterday Previous Day Week Ago The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index 107-06 107-07 106-19 Friday, August 29, 2003 Maturity Par Call Dollar Conversion Converted Date Date Price Factor ...

Municipal Bond Prices.
September 2, 2003... These 40 Bonds are evaluated and priced daily by Standard & Poor's Securities Evaluations. All figures are rounded to the nearest eighth when reported in this table. "Change in Bid" is rounded after calculation. Dollar Change...

Recently Lowered Florida School District Readies $38M Refunding.
September 2, 2003... The Alachua County, Fla., School District plans to refund $37.5 million of general obligation bonds today, but the district recently suffered a rating downgrade that may be a harbinger troubles facing some of the state's 67 other public...

Competitive Bond Offerings.
September 2, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Tuesday, September 2 South Holland IL GO (Tax)...

Competitive Note Offerings.
September 2, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Wednesday, September 3 ...

Negotiated Bond Offerings.
September 2, 2003... Tentative dates for negotiated sales of $1 million or more. Please fax all pricing & award Information to 212-989-8442. Week Of September 1 Jefferson County AR Sales & Use Tax Rev 10,900 Morgan Keegan -- -- --...

Negotiated Note Offerings.
September 2, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) LEAD MANAGER INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH FIRST APPEARED Week Of September 1 Louisiana Pub Facs Auth LA Rev 11,830 Morgan Keegan -- -- -- SP-1+ -- Aug 29...

Results of Negotiated Sales.
September 2, 2003... CALIFORNIA Buena Park Communities Facilities District No. 2001-1 Aug 29, 2003 $7,655,000 Special Tax Bonds, Series 2003 (Buena Park Mall) (book entry). Dated Sep 18, 2003. Due Sep 1, 2006 to 2033. First coupon Mar...

Results of Competitive Sales.
September 2, 2003... TEXAS Conroe (City) Aug 28, 2003 $9,700,000 Certificates of Obligation, Series 2003 (AMBAC insured) (bank qualified). Dated Sep 1, 2003. Due Sep 1, 2004 to 2023. Callable Sep 1, 2013 at par. Winning bid:...

The Digest.
September 3, 2003... Municipal bond yields rose roughly five basis points yesterday while in a light new issue market Alachua County School District, Fla., led with a $38 million of general obligation refunding bond loan. Complete market coverage by Nicholas Chesla...

N.Y.C. IDA To OK New Office Tower: $650M Liberty Bond Deal for Midtown.
September 3, 2003... The New York City Industrial Development Agency is poised to give preliminary approval to the sale of $650 million in tax-exempt Liberty bonds to finance the Bank of America's new headquarters in the city. On Sept. 30, the IDA board will...

Ratings in Hindsight: Was Latest Tobacco Ruling a Predictable Risk?
September 3, 2003... The impact one class-action lawsuit could have on tobacco settlement bonds may have been underestimated by rating agencies -- as a flurry of downgrades would attest to -- but would have been nearly impossible to predict, raters say. Last...

Colorado Water Referendum Wins Support from Local Bond Dealers.
September 3, 2003... Save Colorado's Water, a group working to promote a $2 billion statewide water bond referendum, filed campaign reports with the Colorado secretary of state Friday indicating that the group has received financial support from members of the...

News In Brief: August ISM Index Rises to 52.4.
September 3, 2003... The ISM manufacturing index rose to 54.7% in August from 51.8% in July, according to the Institute for Supply Management's "Report on Business." Economists surveyed by IFR BondData Americas had predicted the ISM index would rise to 52.4%...

News In Brief: Treasury to Sell $17B Of 4-Week Bills.
September 3, 2003... The Treasury Department said it will roll over $17 billion of four-week discount bills today. Federal Reserve banks hold $14.924 billion of maturing bills in their own accounts. The bills are dated Sept. 4 and due Oct. 2. ...

News In Brief: Weekly T-Bills Go At 0.970%, 1.040%.
September 3, 2003... Tender rates for the Treasury's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.970% high rate, down from the previous auction's rate of 0.980% and as the six-months incurred a 1.040% high rate,...

News In Brief: Cash Management Bills Draw 0.980% High Rate.
September 3, 2003... The Treasury today sold $23 billion in 12-day cash management bills, dated Sept. 3, due Sept. 15 at a 0.980% high tender rate. The bid to cover ratio was 2.49. The coupon equivalent was 1.007%. The price was 99.967. The low bid...

Tuesday's Market: Munis Weaken as Treasuries Plunge; Florida School District Refunds $38M.
September 3, 2003... Municipal bond yields rose roughly five basis points yesterday while in a light new-issue market the Alachua County, Fla., School District led with a $38 million general obligation refunding. Treasuries plunged, extending their losses...

Faulty Figures, But No Crimes Found in Oklahoma Jail Deal.
September 3, 2003... Grady County, Okla., officials and the architect who sold them on $17.6 million in jail revenue bonds have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury that cited "inaccurate and overly opportunistic" revenue projections in planning...

Florida Senator Wants Repeal of Class-Size Amendment.
September 3, 2003... Florida state Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, will help get the signatures needed to place a referendum on a statewide ballot asking voters to repeal the school class-size reduction amendment, but he continues to support a $600 million bond...

Pennsylvania Localities Looking at Swap Ability.
September 3, 2003... A bill that calls for giving local municipalities such as towns and school districts the authority to enter into interest rate swaps for general obligation bonds could be taken up by the Pennsylvania legislature when lawmakers return to work...

Stuart Kaswell Leaving SIA for Dechert Law Firm.
September 3, 2003... Stuart Kaswell, the Securities Industry Association's senior vice president and general counsel, plans to leave the SIA later this month after almost 10 years to join the law firm of Dechert LLP as a partner and the head of its broker-dealer...

Beleaguered Massachusetts Schools to Increase Bond Sales.
September 3, 2003... Local Massachusetts school bond sales are up for the year, despite cuts in state aid and continuing uncertainty surrounding the state's School Building Assistance program. There were 20 separate school bond sales in the first six months of...

Mutual Funds: Outflows for July Hit Their Highest Level in Three Years.
September 3, 2003... Municipal bond mutual funds had a net outflow of $2.053 billion during July, marking their worst month in more than three years, the Investment Company Institute reported last week. The last time those funds had a larger net outflow was in...

Deal in Focus: Detroit to Kick Off Fall Issuance With $150M in Two Sales.
September 3, 2003... Detroit is gearing up for several trips to the bond market this fall, with the first two sales, totaling about $150 million of new-money and refunding bonds, anticipated this month. The city will issue about $108 million, $70 million of...

ILLINOIS: Cap Bypass Veto.
September 3, 2003... A Cook County official reacted strongly last week to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto of legislation intended to give $100 million in additional bonding authority to the Cook County Forest Preserve District. County board President John Stroger...

ILLINOIS: New Budget Ace.
September 3, 2003... The Chicago Public Schools has hired Pedro Martinez as its budget director, filling a post recently left vacant when the school board promoted John Maiorca to the post of chief financial officer. The Chicago Board of Education formally...

ILLINOIS: Fire's Quest.
September 3, 2003... The Chicago Fire soccer team has extended its deadline for municipalities to submit soccer stadium proposals to Sept. 15 from Aug. 15, the team said last week. Though the competition remains open, the Major League Soccer team has narrowed...

ILLINOIS: Hunting a Head.
September 3, 2003... The Southwestern Illinois Development Authority has launched a search for a new executive director after canceling its contract with the current director, Joe Behnken, who had held the job for three years. Several market participants said...

INDIANA: Airport Paper.
September 3, 2003... The Indianapolis airport board will vote this month on a proposal to increase the authorization for its commercial paper program to $75 million from the current $50 million, in part to help finance the airport's expansion plans. The...

INDIANA: Reassessment Blues.
September 3, 2003... Marion County auditor Marty Womacks last week rejected a plan by Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson to offer tax relief to some county homeowners who have seen their bills rise this year due to the state's reassessment. The plan proposed...

WISCONSIN: Note to Self.
September 3, 2003... Wisconsin today will resume its nearly annual tradition of selling operating notes when it competitively issues $400 million of the short-term paper. The state initially anticipated selling $800 million but disliked current interest rate...

Market Indicators.
September 3, 2003... Dollar amounts are in millions Day's 2003 2003 Daily Yesterday Change High Date Low Date Municipal Bond Index 106-15 -23/32 115-28 (6/13) 105-22 (7/31) 40 Average Dollar Price 97.39...

Municipal Market Data General Obligation Yields.
September 3, 2003... Aaa Aaa (pure) (ins) Aa A Baa 2004 1.05 1.09 1.10 1.36 1.83 2008 2.73 2.82 2.80 3.19 3.69 2013 4.02 4.14 4.12 4.55 5.01 2018 4.53 4.66 4.64 5.02 5.49...

U.S. Securities Prices.
September 3, 2003... Prices as of 3:45 p.m. ET. Source: GovPx Inc. Treasury Bills Yesterday's Prev. Day's Yesterday's (in percent of discount) Bid/Offer Bid/Offer Bid Yield 1M -- 9/25/2003 0.960/955 0.965/955 0.977 3M --...

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Yields.
September 3, 2003... Sep 2, 2003 Aug 29, 2003 Sep 3, 2002 Selected MIG-1/SP-1+ Notes California Raws Ser A 2s (MIG-1) (June 04) 1.72 1.72 1.25 Los Angeles Co Trans 2s (June 04) 1.08 1.08 1.30 Texas Trans 2s (Aug 04) 1.16 ...

Merrill Lynch Corporate Bond Indexes.
September 3, 2003... Performance Comparisons for September 1, 2003 Aaa-Baa Rated Corporates Index Avg. Pct. of Total Return % Close Yield Market Prior Wk. Y-T-D ML Corporate Master 1380.18 4.90 100.00 +0.60 +3.90...

Reoffering Yields.
September 3, 2003... NRO - Not Reoffered; S.B. - Sealed Bid; SNA - Sold, Not Available Offer Amount Date ($Mil) RECENT OFFERINGS 1 Year 5 10 15 20 25 30 Aaa -- AAA 7/21 3.6 Prairiland I.S.D., Tex. (PSF gtd.) 1.00 2.55 3.60 ... ... ...

New-Issue Balances.
September 3, 2003... (,000 Omitted) * Since initial reoffering + Revised upward since last report Amount Date NEW OFFERINGS Sold Balance $30,975 9/2 Madison, Wis. $19,933 $11,042 12,525 9/2 Fargo, N.D....

Municipal Market Data Total Returns.
September 3, 2003... Maturities 15 Years and Longer -- Periods Ending August 29, 2003 Previous Month Year Week To Date To Date General obligation (composite) +0.463% +2.133% -0.100% Aaa (pure) +0.374 +1.205 ...

Municipal Bond Index.
September 3, 2003... Yesterday Previous Day Week Ago The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index 106-15 107-06 106-18 Tuesday, September 2, 2003 Maturity Par Call Dollar Conversion Converted Date Date Price Factor ...

Municipal Bond Prices.
September 3, 2003... These 40 Bonds are evaluated and priced daily by Standard & Poor's Securities Evaluations. All figures are rounded to the nearest eighth when reported in this table. "Change in Bid" is rounded after calculation. Dollar Change...

States Cut City Aid by $2.3 Billion in 2003-04, NLC Says.
September 3, 2003... Faced with large budget shortfalls for fiscal 2003 and 2004, state governments reduced the level of aid they gave to cities by $2.3 billion, or 9.2%, compared to the preceding two-year period, according to a new analysis unveiled yesterday by...

Competitive Bond Offerings.
September 3, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Wednesday, September 3 W Kentucky Univ KY Cons...

Competitive Note Offerings.
September 3, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Wednesday, September 3 ...