Munis finish flat; upcoming issuance expected to be low; Fulton County plans $257.58 million

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Aug. 26 - With less-than-groundbreaking news from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and a hurricane bearing down on the East Coast, little was accomplished in the muni arena Friday, market sources reported.

"There's very little trading," said one New York-based trader reached Friday afternoon.

"Everything is pretty much unchanged. There's not much moving us this way or that. I'm sure a lot of folks are ready to get out of here because of the hurricane."

Meanwhile, the week ahead of Labor Day is looking lean, with just over $1 billion in new issues expected, said Alan Schankel, managing director with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.

"Muni-to-Treasury ratios, which have been bouncing around in the volatility of recent weeks, finished above 100% in the 10-year maturity and approached 108% for 30-year bonds," Schankel wrote Friday.

"With this week's municipal new-issue calendar largely behind us and an extremely thin schedule next week ahead of Labor Day, the municipal market is seeing activity grind to a halt."

Tampa deal set

Looking to the light action in the coming week, the City of Tampa is gearing up to price $128.855 million of series 2011 water and sewer systems improvement and refunding revenue bonds on Wednesday.

The bonds (Aa1/AA+/AA+) will be sold through senior manager Wells Fargo Securities LLC.

Proceeds will be used to prepay outstanding notes, refund the city's series 2001A water and sewer revenue bonds and fund various sewer capital improvements included in the city's five-year capital improvement program.

Indiana Finance bonds to price

In other upcoming deals, the Indiana Finance Authority is scheduled to bring $67.535 million of series 2011 facilities revenue refunding bonds on Tuesday.

The deal includes $21.115 million of series 2011A New Castle Correctional Facility bonds, $19.27 million of series 2011B Indiana State Museum Facility bonds, $20.18 million of series 2011C Evansville State Hospital Facility bonds, $1.615 million of series 2011D Logansville State Hospital Facility bonds and $5.355 million of series 2011E Southeast Regional Treatment Center Facility bonds.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to refund the series 2002A and 2004B revenue bonds issued for the New Castle Correctional Facility, the 2003A and 2004C bonds issued for the Indiana State Museum, the 2003B bonds issued for the Evansville State Hospital, the 2004D bonds issued for the Logansville State Hospital and the 2004E bonds issued for the Southeast Regional Treatment Center.

Fulton deal ahead

Looking out on the horizon, Fulton County, Ga., is expected to price $257.575 million of series 2011 water and sewerage revenue refunding bonds, said a preliminary official statement.

The bonds will be sold through Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

The bonds are due 2013 to 2028.

Proceeds will be used to refund the county's series 1998 water and sewerage revenue bonds and 2004 water and sewerage revenue bonds.

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