Municipal triple-A yield curves played catch up to USTs Friday to close out a week of more mixed economic data that has economists constantly reevaluating their Federal Reserve policy expectations with little consensus.
Municipal bond insurers wrapped $28.921 billion in the first three quarters 2024, a 26.8% increase from the $22.814 billion insured in the first three quarters of 2023, according to LSEG data.
Mr. Barnett, whose journalism career stretched nearly half a century, was a "consummate professional," who was well-liked by colleagues and muni industry professionals.
Analysts remain divided about what the stronger-than-expected consumer price index will mean for Federal Reserve policymakers since the Fed appears to be concentrating on the labor market.
Houston and other Texas cities are under financial pressure caused by weather disasters, public safety salaries and pensions, or capped property tax collections.
With munis establishing "directional footing" in the fourth quarter of this year, the technical backdrop is still the market driver for 2024, said Jeff Lipton, a research analyst and market strategist.
According to public sector workers, labor shortages, aging infrastructure, and affordable housing rank as the primary challenges facing public entities, as well as the rising threat to the tax-exemption.
Xavier University in Ohio is the latest private Midwest college to face bad financial news -- downgrades from two bond rating agencies -- but it's not alone.
Supply is slightly lower this week at nearly $10 billion but not by much, with the pace of supply suggesting $500 billion of issuance for the year could still happen, said Tripp Kaiser, a managing director at Municipal Market Analytics, Inc.
Wells Fargo Head of Municipal Markets Strategy Vikram Rai said on Monday that Illinois' bonds are underappreciated as he released a report on the state.
The district plans to price about $100 million of bonds Thursday, the first since Gov. Ron DeSantis took over control of it by appointing its board of supervisors.
The University of Arizona, which was hit with negative rating outlooks earlier this year, scheduled a debt refunding led by Morgan Stanley (MS) for Wednesday.
Muni yields were cut up two to five basis points, depending on the curve, while UST yields rose five to seven basis points, pushing the 10-year UST yields above 4%.
Cleveland returns to market Wednesday in the first of two bond deals this month. That $64.4 million GO deal funds public parks, bridges and road improvements.
Congress has created recovery bonds for specific disasters in the past, and the CDFA wants the tool to become a permanent private activity bond category.
Municipal investors can expect just shy of $10 billion of new issues from which to choose the first full week of October and the fourth quarter, led by a $1.5 billion taxable general obligation bond offering from New York City. Connecticut is bringing $935 million of general obligation bonds.
Fears of a Hawaiian Electric (HAWLI) bankruptcy abated after a settlement was announced that would cap the utility's liability for the Maui wildfire under $2 billion.
Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows of $1.879 billion in the latest week, marking the 14th consecutive week of inflows and the highest level of 2024, per LSEG data, reiterating the strong investor support for this market.
The SEC has charged Thrivent Investment Management for failing to comply with Regulation Best Interest's care and compliance obligation in connection with recommendations to retail investors in 529 Savings Plans.
This surge in demand "is no coincidence ? it's the result of weeks of relentless inflows, further amplified by the Federal Reserve's recent rate cut," said 16Rock Asset Management CIO James Pruskowski.
The biggest theme within the muni market ? and what is responsible for its performance ? is the amount of cash on the sidelines, with $6-plus trillion in money market funds and close to $2.5 trillion in certificates of deposits, said Julio Bonilla, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Schroders.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle support some level of encouraging cities and states to revamp local zoning codes to encourage more affordable housing.
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.
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