Hennepin County, Minn., puts off $60 million bond sale, cites 'overpriced market'

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, March 4 - Hennepin County in Minnesota postponed its $60 million offering of series 2008A general obligation bonds because of bad market conditions, said Dave Lawless, the county's finance director.

The county had planned to sell bonds (Aaa/AAA/AAA) due from 2008 to 2027 on Tuesday, but the market conditions gave the county pause, Lawless said.

"We had the sense that the municipal tax-exempt market is overpriced [yields]," said Lawless in an interview with Prospect News.

"The 20-year tax-exempt index went up about 60 basis points in the past few days. A lot of it does have to do with the fallout from the auction-rate problem."

The bonds should be up for sale in the next month or so, Lawless added.

The county plans to use the proceeds for capital improvements and library improvement projects.

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