New issue sales fall in November; lowest since 1990.

Sales of new municipal bonds remained severely depressed in November, dropping 44% to $10.57 billion from $18.94 billion a year earlier, according to figures compiled from Securities Data Co.'s database.

November sales brought the year's new-issue volume to $151.21 billion, down 43% from the record $265.64 billion sold from January through November of 1993 and the lowest total for the first 11 months since 1990, when $113.39 billion was issued. However, this year's total is still the fourth largest January-to-November volume on record, surpassed only by last year's record, the $212.21 billion in 1992, and the $154.02 billion in 1991.

November's volume was the smallest for that month since 1990, when $10.4 billion was sold. New York City led the way last month with a $1.3 billion offering of tax-exempt and taxable general obligation bonds on Nov. 10, which accounted for 12% of the month's total.

New-money financing remained solidly above last year's level in November, rising 36% to $9.29 billion from $6.84 billion in November 1993. That brought this year's new-money volume to $105.22 billion, 21% above the $87.1 billion marketed in the same period a year ago.

The new-money increase, however, was overshadowed by steep declines in refunding issues and "combined" issues that mix new-money and refunding bonds. Refundings plunged 88% in November, to $1.04 billion from $8.65 billion a year ago, while combined issues plummeted 93%, to $241 million from $3.45 billion. For the year to date, refundings have fallen 74%, to $36.11 billion from $137.1 billion in 1993, while combined issues have dropped 76%, to $9.88 billion from $41.44 billion.

Housing and industrial development remain the only two purpose categories in which new-issue sales have risen from 1993 levels, and those increases were modest at best. Housing bonds rose 9% in the first 11 months, to $13.58 billion from $12.49 billion a year ago, while industrial development gained 5%, to $6.3 billion from $5.99 billion.

All other purpose categories report large declines, ranging from 24% for environmental facilities to a hefty 78% for electric power. The largest category, general and multiple-purpose issues, posted a 33% drop, to $41.24 billion from $61.74 billion, while the second-largest purpose, education, reported a 40% decline, to $27.13 billion from $45.08 billion.

The use of bond insurance has fallen this year almost in lockstep with overall bond sales. New issues backed by monoline bond insurers dropped 44% in the first 11 months, to $55.73 billion, or 36.9% of the total, from $98.96 billion and a 37.3% share in the same period last year. The use of bank letters of credit to enhance bond issues dropped 26% during the same period, to $6.06 billion from $8.17 billion. The rise in housing bond sales helped lift by 22% the volume of bonds backed by insured mortgages or collateralized by federal housing debt, to $3.7 billion from $3.04 billion.

Sales of taxable municipals were virtually even with year-ago levels in the January-to-November period, with $8.06 billion this year and $8.08 billion last year. A $1.97 billion taxable offering by Los Angeles County in October accounted for nearly one-quarter of this year's taxable volume.

California issuers have been the busiest in the country so far this year, marketing $24.84 billion of new bonds in the first 11 months, even though their sales have fallen 29% from $34.74 billion a year ago. Next came New York, down 35% to $16.88 billion; Texas, down 37% to $9.46 billion; Pennsylvania, down 44% to $7.87 billion; and Florida, down 55% to $7.37 billion. Only six states -- Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, and Wyoming -- have sold more bonds this year than last, and they account for $6.81 billion, or just 4.5%, of this year's volume.

Securities Data's long-term bond figures are based on issues with final maturities of 13 months or longer. Private placements and municipal forward sales are included, but remarketings and taxable debt issued directly by private nonprofit organizations are excluded. The figures are preliminary and subject to revision; for example, October's volume was revised upward by $2.47 billion, or 23%, to $13.1 billion from the $10.63 billion originally reported on Nov. 1.

LARGEST MUNICIPAL ISSUES: November 1994 Sale Amount Issuer Date$1,300.0 New York City, GOs (te/tax) 11/10 407.0 California, GOs (cpt) 11/22 385.0 Robbins, III., various purpose (te/tax) 11/15 290.6 Pennsylvania, GOs (cpt) 11/29 261.3 New York State Environmental Facilities Corp., various 11/18 219.1 Cleveland, Ohio, electric power 11/17 218.9 Virginia, jail & prison GOs (cpt) 11/17 214.1 North Slope Borough, Alaska, GOs 11/10 207.0 Santa Clara Local Government Fin. Auth., Calif., govt offices 11/18 200.0 Massachusetts, GOs (cpt) 11/16 192.0 Regional Transportation Authority, III., GOs 11/15 170.4 Colorado River Commission, Nev., port GOs 11/03 135.9 California State Public Works Board, colleges 11/17 129.0 Ohio Public Facility Commission, college GOs (cpt) 11/01 125.0 Martin County Industrial Dev. Auth., Fla. (ref) (amt) 11/10 121.9 Emery County, Utah, pollution (ref) (ltd) 11/16 108.7 Chicago, airport (ref) 11/28 105.4 Nassau County, N.Y., GOs (cpt) 11/02 104.8 Georgia, GOs (cpt) 11/29 102.1 New York State Mortgage Agency, single-family (amt/te) (cpt) 11/16 100.5 Dade County, Fla., airport (ref) (amt/te/tax) 11/21 100.0 Missouri Housing Development Comm., single-family (amt) (cpt) 11/16 100.0 Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (cpt) 11/02

NOTES: Dollar amounts are in millions. (amt) -- alternative minimum tax; (cpt) -- competitive; GOs -- general obligation bonds; (ltd) -- limited negotiated sale; (ref) -- refunding; (tax) -- taxable; (te) -- tax-exempt. Source: Securities Data Co. (12/1/94)

LONG-TERM BONDS: November 1994 1993 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues ChgTOTAL $10,573,300 593 $18,937,800 1,163 -44.2%Education 1,810,300 161 3,565,000 336 -49.2Electric Power 439,400 15 894,900 11 -50.9Environmental 577,100 27 1,294,900 37 -55.4Health Care 385,400 22 1,647,200 67 -76.6Housing 621,100 35 1,108,900 69 -44.0

IndustrialDevelopment 284,900 30 674,600 68 -57.8

PublicFacilities 749,500 33 501,900 61 49.3Transportation 989,300 28 1,931,700 48 -48.8Utilities 255,300 48 3,333,200 179 -92.3Other 4,461,000 194 3,985,500 287 11.9Tax-Exempt 9,393,800 536 17,601,200 1,045 -46.6Minimum-Tax 784,600 29 757,800 42 3.5Taxable 394,900 28 578,800 76 -31.8New-Money 9,289,000 506 6,835,000 599 35.9Refunding 1,043,600 68 8,654,100 493 -87.9Combined 240,700 19 3,448,700 71 -93.0Negotiated 6,762,500 241 13,527,900 712 -50.0Competitive 3,790,700 348 5,214,000 421 -27.3

PrivatePlacements 20,100 4 195,900 30 -89.7Revenue 4,952,700 225 13,195,700 508 -62.5

GeneralObligation 5,620,600 368 5,742,100 655 -2.1Fixed-Rate 9,368,100 565 17,539,700 1,121 -46.6Variable-Rate 1,205,200 28 1,398,100 42 -13.8Bank-Qualified 828,500 306 1,760,400 584 -52.9Bond Insurance 4,288,800 197 7,274,700 295 -41.0Letters ofCredit 789,400 21 609,200 36 29.6

InsuredMortgages 222,900 10 218,100 23 2.2Surety Bonds 14,000 1 20,200 2 -30.7

InvestmentContracts 0 0 12,700 4 -100.0

StateGovernments 1,522,900 12 884,600 8 72.2

StateAgencies 1,961,400 60 4,828,600 114 -59.4Municipalities 5,589,100 440 7,305,900 840 -23.5

LocalAuthorities 1,474,000 78 5,552,200 178 -73.5

PublicColleges 25,800 3 366,400 23 -93.0

TribalGovernments 0 0 0 0 n.m.

NOTES: Private placements and municipal forwards are included, but short-term notes and remarketings are excluded. n.m. -- not meaningful; unch -- unchanged. Source: Securities Data Co. (12/1/94)

BOND SALES BY STATE: January-November 1994 1993State Rank Volume Rank Volume Pct ChgAlabama 27 $1,481,100 27 $3,064,000 -51.7%Alaska 32 1,161,900 40 1,371,900 -15.3Arizona 16 2,431,500 10 6,397,500 -62.0Arkansas 43 542,300 42 1,142,900 -52.6California 1 24,843,400 1 34,735,000 -28.5Colorado 18 2,157,100 32 2,102,000 2.6Connecticut 17 2,380,200 14 6,080,800 -60.9Delaware 50 318,900 46 869,400 -63.3Florida 5 7,366,400 3 16,350,200 -54.9Georgia 11 4,217,900 12 6,326,800 -33.3Hawaii 38 691,900 29 2,899,200 -76.1Idaho 47 428,100 53 385,100 11.2Illinois 6 7,208,500 6 11,137,400 -35.3Indiana 20 2,074,800 19 4,345,300 -52.3Iowa 39 676,500 37 1,633,000 -58.6Kansas 26 1,564,700 35 1,806,400 -13.4Kentucky 31 1,241,100 23 3,621,100 -65.7Louisiana 29 1,277,600 28 2,922,100 -56.3Maine 36 859,000 44 934,100 -8.0Maryland 13 3,248,500 15 6,064,400 -46.4Massachusetts 8 4,843,200 7 9,942,200 -51.3Michigan 14 3,191,400 13 6,270,400 -49.1Minnesota 15 2,677,700 18 5,709,200 -53.1Mississippi 35 874,000 39 1,468,900 -40.5Missouri 25 1,683,800 26 3,202,700 -47.4Montana 49 339,300 45 877,300 -61.3Nebraska 44 539,900 24 3,357,600 -83.9Nevada 30 1,242,900 38 1,631,100 -23.8New Hampshire 41 623,800 43 1,046,700 -40.4New Jersey 7 5,569,200 17 5,795,000 -3.9New Mexico 28 1,349,400 41 1,174,000 14.9New York 2 16,877,500 2 25,748,300 -34.5North Carolina 19 2,148,700 16 6,022,000 -64.3North Dakota 51 198,600 52 400,800 -50.4Ohio 10 4,222,800 11 6,380,200 -33.8Oklahoma 37 788,400 34 1,838,400 -57.1Oregon 23 1,833,000 36 1,641,400 11.7Pennsylvania 4 7,866,100 5 13,937,800 -43.6Rhode Island 40 652,600 33 1,868,200 -65.1South Carolina 34 937,600 25 3,252,000 -71.2South Dakota 42 593,000 50 476,300 24.5Tennessee 21 2,009,600 21 4,029,900 -50.1Texas 3 9,455,000 4 15,016,200 -37.0Utah 33 1,157,600 30 2,403,800 -51.8Vermont 52 193,500 48 548,300 -64.7Virginia 9 4,234,300 9 6,674,500 -36.6Washington 12 3,765,000 8 8,656,400 -56.5West Virginia 48 398,700 47 749,300 -46.8Wisconsin 22 1,976,300 22 3,918,100 -49.6Wyoming 45 451,900 51 403,400 12.0American Samoa 55 3,700 .. 0 n.m.Dist. of Columbia 46 433,500 31 2,122,900 -79.6Guam 53 147,900 49 515,000 -71.3Marshall Islands .. 0 54 100,000 -100.0Puerto Rico 24 1,713,900 20 4,257,500 -59.7Virgin Islands 54 44,600 55 13,900 220.9TOTAL 151,209,800 265,638,300 -43.1%

NOTES: Dollar amounts are in thousands of dollars. Private placements and municipal forwards are included, but short-term notes and remarketings are excluded. n.m. -- not meaningful; unch -- unchanged. Source: Securities Data Co. (12/1/94)

[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

LONG-TERM BONDS: January-November 1994 1993 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues ChgTOTAL $151,209,900 9,577 $265,638,000 13,078 -43.1%January 17,122,600 989 18,423,100 852 -7.1February 16,307,800 976 19,018,700 915 -14.3March 17,273,500 1,073 29,879,800 1,297 -42.2April 11,746,600 798 22,184,100 1,222 -47.0May 13,967,800 1,004 28,648,400 1,336 -51.2June 16,255,400 1,029 30,979,900 1,456 -47.5July 13,627,800 728 24,772,200 1,236 -45.0August 12,681,400 873 25,507,100 1,256 -50.3September 8,554,600 742 24,033,800 1,199 -64.4October 13,099,100 772 23,253,100 1,146 -43.7November 10,573,300 593 18,937,800 1,163 -44.2Education 27,125,600 2,563 45,082,100 3,705 -39.8Electric Power 5,780,500 114 26,716,500 236 -78.4Environmental 7,909,300 285 10,430,500 364 -24.2Health Care 14,089,500 641 28,078,300 1,001 -49.8Housing 13,578,100 795 12,492,300 684 8.7

IndustrialDevelopment 6,295,300 686 5,985,400 653 5.2

PublicFacilities 7,570,100 551 14,184,300 740 -46.6Transportation 13,938,400 390 26,705,300 553 -47.8Utilities 13,687,900 1,279 34,227,800 2,046 -60.0Other 41,235,200 2,273 61,735,500 3,096 -33.2Tax-Exempt 128,538,600 8,526 246,298,300 12,039 -47.8Minimum-Tax 14,611,100 536 11,259,700 339 29.8Taxable 8,060,200 515 8,080,000 700 -0.2New-Money 105,220,800 6,802 87,098,500 6,420 20.8Refunding 36,112,700 2,342 137,098,700 5,768 -73.7Combined 9,876,400 433 41,440,800 890 -76.2Negotiated 101,646,300 5,704 211,364,200 8,517 -51.9Competitive 47,860,100 3,623 52,002,500 4,212 -8.0

PrivatePlacements 1,703,500 250 2,271,300 349 -25.0Revenue 96,076,000 4,833 180,432,100 6,371 -46.8

GeneralObligation 55,133,900 4,744 85,205,900 6,707 -35.3Fixed-Rate 137,174,000 9,016 249,693,800 12,567 -45.1Variable-Rate 14,035,900 561 15,944,200 511 -12.0Bank-Qualified 11,796,100 4,279 16,332,900 5,515 -27.8Bond Insurance 55,725,400 2,669 98,956,700 3,671 -43.7Letters ofCredit 6,061,400 392 8,174,700 353 -25.9

InsuredMortgages 3,703,100 276 3,043,400 273 21.7Surety Bonds 50,400 5 124,700 10 -59.6

InvestmentContracts 249,500 12 435,200 19 -42.7Gtd InvestContracts 0 0 223,200 3 -100.0Private MtgInsurance 6,100 1 92,100 4 -93.4

OtherGuaranties 600 1 78,400 5 -99.2

StateGovernments 19,409,200 199 26,974,400 224 -28.0

StateAgencies 43,313,300 1,254 76,510,900 1,308 -43.4Municipalities 60,471,600 6,409 103,334,700 9,130 -41.5

LocalAuthorities 25,459,900 1,567 53,848,400 2,177 -52.7

PublicColleges 2,555,700 148 4,965,900 238 -48.5

TribalGovernments 0 0 3,800 1 -100.0

NOTES: Private placements and municipal forwards are included, but short-term notes and remarketings are excluded. n.m. -- not meaningful; unch -- unchanged. Source: Securities Data Co. (12/1/94)

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