Fixed income

Municipal mutual funds reported $82.1 million of net inflows in the week ended Feb. 12, bouncing back from a $227.3 million outflow the week before, Lipper FMI reported Thursday.

Municipal mutual funds reported $82.1 million of net inflows in the week ended Feb. 12, Lipper FMI said Thursday.

Puerto Rican investors are lining up for arbitration with UBS AG over losses when the commonwealth's bonds plunged last year.

The Fed's tapering policy will likely result in a moderate rise in interest rates accompanied by modest equity returns, according to one investment strategist.

Investors shifted record amounts out of U.S. stock funds and into bonds, while withdrawing money from emerging-market equities for a 15th straight week, according to Citigroup.

The SEC's Michael Piwowar said Monday that he has asked the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities to work with him on proposals to improve the market.

The world's biggest bond manager plans to start 19 actively managed exchange-traded funds as Gross further diversifies the firm following CEO El-Erian's resignation last week.

Two ventures offer online platforms aimed at connecting individual bond buyers and sellers.

Fears of defaults and worries about the fallout from the Fed's tapering program are overblown, says Vanguard's tax-exempt bond boss.

When yields on long-term government securities are below nominal growth rates for a prolonged period, trouble may be brewing, according to Citigroup analysts.

In another sign of the improving tenor of the municipal bond market, muni mutual funds recorded their first inflows in 34 weeks, Lipper FMI numbers showed.

Bond dealers expect 2014 to be the second-worst year for municipal issuance in a decade, and some predict the lowest volume since 2000, as the Federal Reserve's tapering program pushes interest rates higher.

Municipal bonds remain attractive even after their divergence from Treasuries this past week, industry watchers say, suggesting the recent signs of strength in the market may carry into the new year.

The IRS has concluded that $720 million of student-loan bonds issued by a New Hampshire authority are taxable, leading the issuer to move toward requesting an administrative appeal and asking the IRS to reopen its audits of the bonds.

Concern about rate policy shifts is the factor most likely to drive changes to client retirement income portfolios in 2014, according to a new survey from GDC Research and Practical Perspectives.

The number of consecutive weeks of outflows, as well as their overall amount, surpasses those of the last great exodus from muni bond funds that occurred back between late-2010 and early 2011.

FINRA has identified the suitability of the bonds of distressed municipalities for investors, as well as municipal advisor activity, as areas it will focus on in 2014.

Treasury 10-year yields fell from the highest level in more than two years as investors speculated whether the U.S. economy will improve enough for the Federal Reserve to end bond purchases in 2014.

The amount of loans to the riskiest U.S. companies ballooned to a record this year, propelled by unprecedented demand for floating-rate debt that offers protection from rising interest rates.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday agreed to softly pare back its asset purchases by $10 billion, taking the first step in unwinding its controversial bond buying program.