Muni investors hope "any move toward higher yields is steady, even dignified, such that it doesn't catalyze an outflow cycle that would countervail year-to-date total returns just before we close out the year," said Vikram Rai, head of municipal strategy at Wells Fargo.
The incoming administration heads into the White House with a promise to create a national Crypto (CRCW) stockpile as public finance suffers losses, issues warnings, and buys into crypto-backed ETFs.
Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller, a Trump appointee, said that while recent inflation readings are concerning, monetary policy would remain restrictive even if the central bank cuts interest rates by another quarter-point this month.
Independent Financial Group, LLC failed to ensure its employees were offering low-cost options to retail customers looking to rollover a 529 plan to another state.
With an estimated $13 billion calendar on tap, demand for paper will be bolstered by the $16 billion of redemptions coming Monday while mutual fund inflows, this week at about $560 million and concentrated in the long-end, signal solid investor support. Munis are returning 1.73% in November as of Friday.
The Investment Company Institute reported $1.221 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Nov. 20. Exchange-traded funds saw inflows of $836 million.
November's total is below the 10-year average of $32.278 billion and is the lowest monthly total this year. The year's total is about $25 billion short of $500 billion.
"Earlier this month, Chair [Jerome] Powell noted that there was no 'hurry' to cut rates," noted BMO Senior Economist Priscilla Thiagamoorthy. The minutes, she noted, "confirm a broad support for taking a more cautious approach in easing monetary policy."
Sen. Jodi Ernst, R-Iowa, who will chair a Department of Government Efficiency Senate caucus next year, wants to kill federal support for the California high-speed train.
Along with Altman and Wiggins, 12 other honorees from the public and private sectors were chosen by the Northeast Women in Public Finance as Trailblazing Women in Public Finance.?
Markets could see that "the risks of higher inflation and interest rates are implicit constraints on the Trump policy agenda, with the eventual policy outcomes potentially less inflationary than some investors previously feared," UBS strategists noted.
"It became apparent that building this new critical care, advanced care bed tower was a strategic imperative," said John Morgan, interim CFO at WMCHealth.
Supply has "declined materially, allowing dealers to take a breather, with their inventories dropping significantly, while retail investors do not seem to be spooked by rate volatility, lower taxes and possible threats to the tax-exempts, and continued putting money into tax-exempts at a brisk pace," said Mikhail Foux, managing director and head municipal research and strategy at Barclays.
"Volatility creates all kinds of opportunities in the municipal space, not just for tax-loss harvesting, but for positioning and parts of the yield curve that might be undervalued or certain sectors or states that are poised to perform well going into yearend," said Tim McGregor, a managing partner at Riverbend Capital Advisors.
Municipals are outperforming USTs to a large degree this month, with investment grade munis seeing positive 0.81% returns in November and 1.63% year-to-date. USTs are in the red at -0.40% in November with only 0.96% positive returns in 2024.
S&P Global Ratings placed Chicago's general obligation bond rating on watch negative Tuesday, warning against heavy reliance on one-time budget solutions.
Debt issuance and public-private partnerships could be in the financing mix for projects considered by the Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority.
Panelists at the SEC, FINRA and MSRB joint Compliance Outreach Program looked at the state of municipal advisor regulation and how the Commission could respond going forward.
Credit ratings and the role of rating agencies have changed in response to an evolving market over the past 16 years, according to speakers during an online California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission.
The University of Chicago embarked on the Illinois Finance Authority's largest financing ever to transform its capital structure and fund major projects.
"This year, with the tax-exemption clearly threatened, primary calendars should (although, of course, might not) be larger, putting a $500 billion full-year supply total in range, with $451 billion already in the books through 46 weeks," said MMA's Matt Fabian.
Drexel Hamilton and four of its representatives were charged by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for violating the retail order period eligibility criteria set by municipalities.
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.
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