The year 2011 was a continuing time of apprehension about the U.S. and European economy. The taxable Build America Bonds (BABs) that became very popular and expanded the market for municipal debt to new categories of buyers were not renewed. Whatever was not renewed, however, a reduced volume of tax exempts resulted in lower rates. Long-term tax-exempt interest rates ranged over a one and one-half percent high to low spread throughout the year. The Bond Buyer 20-Bond General Obligation Index hit a January 20th high of 5.41% and fell to 3.83% on August 18th, the lowest rate for the year.

The Bond Buyer Index opened 2011 at 4.95% posted on December 30, 2010 and closed at 3.88% on December 30, 2011.

Interest Rates
Interest rates, bond sale volumes, and related statistics in this Newsletter come from reports published in The Bond Buyer newspaper. The 20-Bond Bond Buyer Index is the average tax-exempt market value, expressed in terms of yield, on the general obligation bonds of twenty selected issuers with ratings averaging Aa2/AA and maturing in twenty years.20-Bond G.O. Index