MuniLand

This chart is from some interesting work by Kroll Bond Ratings:

“The amount of municipal bonds outstanding over time varied greatly. As shown in this chart, the pre-Depression municipal bond market was much larger, expressed as a percentage of GDP, than we have seen more recently. It should be noted, however, that the last portion of the pre-Depression upward spike was due to a rapid shrinking of GDP between 1929 and 1933.”

Good Links

Bond Buyer: 2012 is “a better environment for borrowers”

Morgan Stanley: Municipal bond monthly

Bond Buyer: The types of bond deals that cultural institutions do

Bloomberg: Citigroup opposes applying Dodd-Frank to municipal-bond market

Dow Jones: $1 billion Puerto Rico muni-bond sale proves immense muniland demand

Out of Control Policy Blog: Threat of bankruptcy hangs over Providence, Rhode Island

Bloomberg Businessweek: Super fracking

Patriot News: Corbett tells legislators to send him a Marcellus Shale bill “as soon as possible”

The Intelligencer: Friendly City is proclaimed “dead center” of gas rush

Oil and Gas Journal: More processing, fractionation planned for Marcellus, Utica shales

@Twitter Talk

@GOVERNING GOVERNING  Engler: Governors have embarked on courses of action to deal with problems without waiting for the Federal Government.

@zerohedge zerohedge  US debt has increased by $120 billion since final debt extension was approved on Friday

@BloombergGov Bloomberg Government  The federal government spends about $40B a year on highways, most of which is paid for by an 18.4 cent per gallon gas tax.

@nancook Nancy Cook  Good charts from Pew that map out the who, where, what data on the long-term unemployed:  tinyurl.com/7d22lla

@Dealintel Thomson Reuters  Jan 2012 Muni issue totals are at their lowest monthly levels since September 1986 and lowest Jan figures since 1986. Off 52% from Jan 2011

@MillerTabak Michael Pietronico  tax-free bond supply remains painfully low with visible supply about 6 billion or so – it would take 10 billion to knock prices back some

@johngramlich John Gramlich  California budget official says he will mow Zuckerberg’s lawn if Facebook IPO pans out as hoped  bit.ly/yT28BZ

@ourmoneyphilly It’s Our Money  When Allegheny County tried to reform its property-tax system, it was a circus. Will the same thing happen in Philly? bit.ly/zB6Yzj

@taxfoundation Tax Foundation  Big fight brewing over plan to add 6% levy to current 23-cent gas tax in MD bsun.md/AoikTE