why issue a workable indication 
in a sense a nominal quote expressed in the form of workable indication might be seen as an estimate or initial offer or perhaps a starting point from which they can come to a mutually agreeable deal the dealer or broker is under no obligation to honor the workable indication and can revise it if market conditions or investor interest change workable indication allows both parties flexibility to negotiate until reaching specific figures flexible ranges work well when the dealer is in the initial stage of trying to make a deal and perhaps still gauging the interest of the potential buyers the workable indication also gives the seller the ability to assess the impact of various price levels on investors it may often be delivered in non committal terms using relatively vague language such as it s somewhere in the neighborhood of or i think it would probably be roughly around a workable indication may be offered as a starting point for negotiation or it may indicate that the bond is not being actively traded at the current time since the dealer can t immediately locate it they can t estimate the price and supply of the issue and give a firm quote on it 1special considerationsto fully appreciate how a workable indication tactic might be used in a bond trading scenario it is helpful to understand the atmosphere in which the buying and selling of munis typically takes place trading for municipal bonds is usually within a secondary or inter dealer market this is the marketplace where institutional investors banks bond funds insurance companies retail individual investors and small businesses go to purchase bonds and where bond dealers are offering issued munis for sale in contrast to the stock market where the action tends to be a bit more fast paced with frantic bursts of activity and the pressure to make quick decisions the municipal bond market is generally more relaxed participants don t have to move fast instead they can haggle and mull over the offer while trying to negotiate the best possible deal in such an arena a workable indication is often the starting point of the transaction process however even in the muni bond market there is always the possibility that another potential buyer will swoop in and express interest in a particular issue then the scenario may get more competitive and buyers may need to think fast deciding whether to increase their offers or to drop out of the bidding 