Borrowing Costs Plummeting for Local Governments: Muni Credit

This was supposed to be the worst year ever for U.S. states and municipalities. Instead, they are obtaining money at the lowest interest rates in more than two years after predictions of rising defaults failed to materialize.

Issuers led by Massachusetts, Mississippi and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plan to sell about $67 billion of long-term tax-exempt debt from July through this month, the first time since at least 2003 that third-quarter offerings will rise from the previous three months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.