Story Stocks: Citigroup (NYSE:C), Zale (NYSE:ZLC), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Toyota (NYSE:TM)

Citigroup (NYSE:C) analysts say there’s something missing from the Federal Reserve’s tally of the municipal-bond market’s size: more than $700 billion of the securities were bought directly by individual investors. The Fed’s quarterly figures, released yesterday, put the market at $2.9 trillion, 37 percent of which the central bank says is owned by households. Citigroup’s analysts say individuals play an even larger role, holding half of a $3.7 trillion market that has been whipsawed by speculation about municipal defaults that is now starting to ebb. “The instability in the muni market in late 2010 was exacerbated by individual investors becoming overly concerned about the fiscal strength of state and local governments,” Rai said after Citigroup’s report on the market . . . → Read More: Story Stocks: Citigroup (NYSE:C), Zale (NYSE:ZLC), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Toyota (NYSE:TM)