"The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) plans to buy back up to $30 million of its $3.5 billion worth of outstanding auction-rate bonds," the St. Louis Business Journal reports. "The move would make the state's student loan authority the first issuer of auction-rate securities to publicly announce its intention to repurchase its securities in the secondary market, according to New York-based Restricted Stock Partners. MOHELA's buyback would provide liquidity for some investors who have been unable to sell their bonds in recent months. Investors who sell back to MOHELA will take a loss, however. The student loan authority stated it would only repurchase its bonds at a discounted price, though it did not specify the size of the discount it would seek."