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FRANKFURT -- The European Central Bank disclosed Monday that it had bought 16.5 billion euros in bonds in the first week since taking the unprecedented step of intervening in markets to halt a sell-off of Greek and other European debt. The bank did not say which countries' debt it was buying, how much it would spend in the future, or whether it bought any corporate bonds. The 16.5 billion euros ($21 billion) was considered a relatively small amount for the market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ARE the credit markets showing some signs of revival? At first glance, it appears that the answer is yes, at least for high-quality corporate borrowers. The volume of investment-grade corporate bonds issued in Europe and Asia in the first three months of this year was the highest ever for any quarter, while in the United States the total fell just short of the record. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Responding to criticism that ratings firms underrate municipal debt relative to corporate bonds, one such agency, Moody's Investor Service, said on Thursday that it was considering changes to its ratings system. Under the proposal, cities and states could request a corporate-scale rating for their tax-exempt bonds in addition to a standard municipal rating. Moody's is seeking comments on the change, which it says could go into effect in May. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]