Investors were in for a mixed week, as the S&P 500 fell nearly 1% by Thursday's close, before markets started to rebound on Friday morning. With the first quarter of 2014 nearly in the books, market sentiment has proven to be quite different from 2013's bull run. In the financial world, JP Morgan and Bank of America both announced that they were planning to raise dividends and begin large share repurchase programs after the Federal Reserve approved their capital plans. Conversely, Citibank was denied permission to raise its quarterly dividend from 1 cent to 5 cents, and its stock was down sharply on the news. In employment news, initial jobless claims fell to 311,000 this week from 321,000 last week, beating expectations of 323,000. The yield on 10-Year bonds was down slightly by Thursday's close, starting out the week at 2.74 before moving lower to 2.69 on Thursday. Below, we look at all of Moody's municipal bond upgrades and downgrades from the past week.

Upgrades

• Bartlett Independent School District, TX: Moody's upgraded this school district to A3 from Baa1. The upgrade to A3 reflects the district's healthy reserves attributed to favorable multi-year operating trends. The rating also incorporates the district's limited, but growing tax base and manageable debt burden without plans for additional near term borrowing.
• Coolidge Independent School District, TX: Moody's upgraded this school district to Baa1 from Baa2. The upgrade to Baa1 reflects a favorable financial position, and limited pension obligations as a percentage of the budget. Additionally, the rating incorporates a limited economy, concentration in major taxpayers, as well as elevated debt burdens.
• California Housing Finance Agency's Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds III: Moody's upgraded these bonds from A3 to A1. The A1 rating reflects significant growth in the financial strength of the MFIII indenture, strong performance of the mortgage loans pledged to bond repayment, and performance on stress cash flow projections.
• Comsewogue Public Library, NY: Moody's upgraded this public library to Aa3 from A1. The rating incorporates the satisfactory legal provisions between DASNY and the library, as well as the library's underlying credit characteristics, including: a large tax base, coterminous with the Brookhaven-Comsewogue School District; above average wealth indicators; healthy finances evidenced by ample reserves; and minimal debt and pension burdens.
• City of Bath, ME: Moody's upgraded this city to Aa3 from A1. The Aa3 rating reflects the city's strong reserve position, moderately-sized tax base anchored by Bath Iron Works, and manageable debt and pension burdens.
• Traverse County, MN: Moody's upgraded this county to Aa3 from A1. The Aa3 rating reflects the county's moderately sized and agriculturally driven tax base in western Minnesota, healthy financial profile characterized by sizable reserve levels, and a modest debt burden with a lack of future borrowing needs.
• Rippowam Park Apartments, CT: Moody's has upgraded these apartments to A1. The upgrade is based on the continued financial improvement over the past three years demonstrated by increasing debt service coverage levels, healthy occupancy levels, and fully funded account balances. Debt service coverage as of the 2013 financial audit is 2.9x.
• Depoe Bay, OR: Moody's upgraded this city to A2 from A3. The upgrade to A2 primarily reflects the city's still small tax base, tourism-dependent economy that appears stable even during the recent recession, consistent and extraordinarily strong reserves and liquidity relative to peers, and also manageable debt and pension burdens.
• Richmond, MA: Moody's upgraded this town to Aa3 from A1. The upgrade reflects the town's healthy financial profile and positive multi-year financial trends. The town's low unfunded pension liability also contributed to the upgrade. Other key considerations include the town's limited tax base, above-average wealth levels and low debt burden.
• Stone Ridge Fire District, NY: Moody's upgraded this fire district to A2 from Baa1. The A2 rating reflects the district's satisfactory financial position with healthy reserves and positive multi-year trends. Other key considerations include the district's limited tax base with an above average demographic profile and an affordable debt position.
• Morton Park District, IL: Moody's upgraded this district to Aa2 from A1. The Aa2 rating incorporates the district's moderately sized and growing tax base favorably located in the greater Peoria (GO rated Aa3/stable) metropolitan region; stable financial operations supported by healthy reserves even following planned draws for capital expenditures; a minimal debt burden with slow principal amortization and a nominal unfunded pension liability.
• Adams County, PA: Moody's upgraded this county to Aa3 from A1. The upgrade to Aa3 rating reflects the county's improved financial position following several years of positive operations and the sale of the county's nursing home, which had historically required General Fund support. The rating also incorporates the county's sizeable and stable rural-residential tax base, average socioeconomic indices, and moderate direct debt burden with variable rate and swap exposure.

Downgrades

• Eden Prairie Independent School District No. 272, MN: Moody's downgraded this school district to Aa2 from Aa1. The Aa2 underlying rating reflects the district's large, affluent and diverse tax base favorably located invthe Twin Cities metropolitan area; history of strong financial management practices and planned spend down of reserve levels; revenue pressures; long-term trend of declining enrollment; and average debt burden.
• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, WI: Moody's downgraded this district to Aa1 from Aaa. The district's Aa1 rating reflects its sound financial operations that benefit from strong financial flexibility and adequate liquidity levels; a $57 billion tax base in the Milwaukee (Aa2 rating under review for possible downgrade) metropolitan area that remains sizeable despite with multi-year declines in value; service-based revenue generated from ten relatively wealthy communities outside of the district's taxing boundaries; a moderately elevated debt burden, reflecting the capital intensive nature of the district; and modest unfunded pension liabilities.
• City of Bettendorf, IA: Moody's downgraded this city to Aa2 from Aa1. The Aa2 incorporates the city's sizeable and modestly growing tax base located in the Quad Cities region of eastern Iowa (Aaa stable), above average demographic and socioeconomic profile, and sound financial position supported by prudent fiscal management and flexibility to adjust tax levies. The rating further reflects challenges tied to the city's elevated debt burden, high fixed cost ratio and moderate exposure to two underfunded cost-sharing retirement systems.
• East Jefferson General Hospital, LA: Moody's downgraded this hospital to Ba1 from Baa3. The rating downgrade to Ba1 is based on EJGH's second year of unfavorable financial performance in fiscal year (FY) 2013 resulting in a failure to reach projected levels of performance for a second year and the maintenance of weak debt coverage metrics. The downgrade also reflects the multiple years of variable performance and operating losses as well as a multi-year trend of declines in absolute unrestricted cash and investments.
• St. Bernard Parish Home Mortgage Authority, LA: Moody's downgraded this authority to Baa1. The downgrade is based on a projected revenue insufficiency to pay debt service if reinvestment earnings continue to be near 0%.
• New Jersey HMFA Capital Fund Program Revenue Bonds, Series 2004A: Moody's downgraded these bonds to Ba1 from Baa3. This rating action reflects deteriorating maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage of the bonds, driven mainly by a steep decline in 2013 capital funding to the Salem Housing Authority.
• Suffolk County, NY: Moody's downgraded this county's $1.4 billion of general obligation debt to A2 from A3 and downgraded to Baa3 from Baa2 $70 million in lease revenue bonds issued by the Suffolk County Judicial Facilities Agency. The A3 reflects the county's continued use of significant one-time revenues, reliance on significant cash flow borrowing and amortization of annual pension contributions. The Baa3 rating on the lease revenue bonds reflects the risk of non-appropriation, weak asset-to-loan ratio and the essential nature of the pledged asset.
• Zion Park District, IL: Moody's downgraded this district's general obligation unlimited tax (GO) rating to Baa3 from Baa1 and has downgraded the district's general obligation limited tax (GOLT) debt certificates to Ba1 from Baa2. The Baa3 GO rating reflects a rapidly declining tax base, related pressures from property tax rate caps in the district's major operating funds, managerial unwillingness to cut expenditures and very narrow operating cash reserves, as evidenced by a sustained negative cash position in the district's Recreation Fund and two of its three Enterprise Funds. The district's Ba1 GOLT debt certificate rating reflects the lack of a dedicated property tax levy for repayment of debt service, along with the district's narrow liquidity position.
• Lancaster County School District 1, NE: Moody's downgraded this school district to Aa1 from Aaa. The Aa1 rating reflects the district's large and diverse tax base experiencing moderate year over year valuation growth anchored by significant institutional presence; strong financial operations characterized by a strong enrollment growth trend and long term planning; healthy reserve levels that are below sector medians; leveraged debt position; and elevated but manageable pension liabilities.
• Idaho Housing & Finance Association, Single Family Mortgage, Series 2009A Class I Variable Rate Bonds: Moody's downgraded these bonds to Aa1(sf) from Aaa(sf). The downgrade to Aa1(sf) rating is solely based on the remarketing of the variable rate bonds to the VRO Mode and not a result of program credit deterioration.
• City of Linden, NJ: Moody's downgraded this city to Aa3 from Aa2. The Aa3 rating reflects the city's declining but still adequate financial operations, a sizeable tax base with a significant commercial and industrial presence, and higher than average debt burden and pension liability.
• Penn Hills School District, PA: Moody's downgraded this district's underlying rating to Baa1 from A3 as well as downgraded the enhanced rating to A2 from A1 on the district's $27.9 million of rated outstanding general obligation bonds. The downgrade to Baa1 from A3 reflects the district's reduced financial position including the depletion of reserves, which will continue to pose fiscal pressure over the near term. The rating also incorporates a stable suburban Pittsburgh (GO rated A1 stable) tax base and an above-average debt burden.