Moody's lowered Fairview Health Services by one notch to Baa1 and assigned a negative outlook, but a pending merger and expected sale of some facilities could help its bottom line.
Chicago returns to the market later this month with a deal under its Sales Tax Securitization Corp. credit that will offer the city's first social-designated bonds along with a refunding piece that includes the paydown of GO bonds through a tender.
"With only a few days remaining in the year, muni bonds have had a tough year losing roughly 8.44% for the year," said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.
Among the special session charges: "Improve the financial stability of the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation," Florida's bond-funded insurer of last resort.
Debt placed through conduit Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp. will accelerate repairs at the Paul Cuffee School, a high school in Providence.
Municipal bond mutual funds saw more losses on Wednesday with the Investment Company Institute reporting another week of multi-billion-dollar outflows, bringing year-to-date losses to $123.3 billion.
South Carolina-based Jasper Pellets borrowed $12.5 million in private activity bonds in 2018. A deal to settle the firm's Chapter 11 bankruptcy pays the debt.
The upgrade reflects the city's improving pension funding practices, commitment to a sound reserve position and ability to institute structural budget measures, Fitch said.
Moody's says Hawaii's tourism-based economy is disproportionately vulnerable to high inflation. It affirmed the state at Aa2 ahead of a $800 million GO deal.
The Investment Company Institute reported $2.034 billion of outflows from muni bond mutual funds in the week ending Sept. 7 compared to $2.594 billion of outflows the previous week.
The Investment Company Institute reported $755 million of outflows from muni bond mutual funds in the week ending August 24 compared to $320 million of inflows the previous week.
The Investment Company Institute reported $230 million of inflows into muni bond mutual funds in the week ending August 17. ETFs see second week of outflows.
"Demand for low-duration tax-exempts has been so strong that short maturity benchmark yields are now lower than the after-tax yields for comparably rated benchmark taxable muni and corporate bonds," said CreditSights strategists Pat Luby and John Ceffalio.
The debt issued through conduit Gallatin County, Montana, benefits an aerial firefighting company that went public through a SPAC weeks after the bonds sold.
The Investment Company Institute reported investors poured in $1.589 billion into muni bond mutual funds in the week ending August 3, the highest level since November.
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.