Colleges and universities have already begun hiring freezes and spending cuts, dialing back research and rescinding offers to Ph.D. candidates, the rating agency said.
Lighter supply, at an estimated $7.9 billion, and still-attractive valuations should allow for solid muni performance this week, said J.P. Morgan strategists.
Plaintiffs are challenging Oconee County's use of general obligation bonds repaid by taxpayers countywide to fund sewer improvements serving a small area.
Municipal bond issuance for the week of March 24 is at $7.923 billion, with $6.673 billion of negotiated deals and $1.251 billion of competitive deals on tap.
The rating agency cited a tax cut package enacted by the state last year and uncertainty over federal policies for the outlook revision to stable from positive.
Most of Thursday's issuance came from competitive deals, the largest being the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York with $2 billion-plus and California with $889 billion.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is pressing public transit agencies to beef up their commuter safety protocols or lose federal funding while the recently passed continuing resolution raises appropriation levels for the sector by less than a half percent.
Fitch Ratings cited the San Diego-area health district's ongoing fiscal woes in dropping its rating to B-minus from B and revising its negative watch to a negative outlook.
"If you're an issuer, this is fly-in season," said Jarrod Loadholt, partner at Ice Miller LLP. "Don't hope someone else is going to solve this for you ? they're not."
Rhonda Skoby and Rachel Lochner joined the Minneapolis public finance practice of Taft, Stettinier and Hollister as partner and associate, respectively.
The slowdown of growth in the fourth quarter does not imply there is dwindling demand for munis, said Pat Luby, head of municipal strategy at CreditSights.
As major airlines report losses and scale back forecasts, Cleveland is preparing to go to market April 2 with $125.5 million of revenue bonds for its airport.
"While there has been some reported buying by relative value institutions amid higher ratios from the muni-centric price correction, the market as a whole may not rally this week," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.
Hospital and health insurance operator UPMC's $735 million deal looks routine. But the volatile healthcare and insurance environments may disrupt that standard.
President Trump's selection of Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman as the next vice chair for supervision comes as banking groups and their allies in Congress asked the administration to fill the position quickly. Bowman was the preferred choice for many in the industry.
The MSRB has said it is amending a pending rule change that would greatly shorten the reporting time standard for municipal bond trades, which could cause problems for certain transactions, dealer firms said.
March had been expected to be difficult due to a "combination of heavy supply, low redemptions, rate volatility, tax-related selling and now fund outflows," said Barclays (JJCTF) strategists Mikhail Foux and Grace Cen.
While the White Lake, Michigan, township hack is the best-known and publicly disclosed cyberattack, there have been others. Some issuers and firms are reluctant to share these experiences publicly.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.