Wells Fargo Securities will price for the Chicago Transit Authority $575 million of first and second lien sales tax receipts bonds on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Indiana looks to entice the National Football League's Chicago Bears to move to northwest Indiana by offering state-backed bonds to fund a new stadium.
Improved risk sentiment after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicol?s Maduro helped pull investors into all markets and munis are a "beneficiary" of that shift, said James Pruskowski, an investor and market strategist.
With the muni calendar "heating up" ahead of another projected year of record issuance, Jeff Lipton, The Bond Buyer's market intelligence strategist, expects "investor demand to comfortably digest the new supply given reinvestment needs and compelling yield and income opportunities."
Advocates for improving inland port infrastructure in the House and Senate are pushing bipartisan bills aimed at funneling more dollars from the Port Infrastructure Development Program to facilities on the Great Lakes as opposed to East and West coasts.
Moody's Ratings upgraded the Chicago Transit Authority to Aa3 from A1 Friday, and upgraded the Chicago-area Regional Transportation Authority to Aa2 from Aa3.
U.S. electricity consumption has shifted from limited to rising growth due to the proliferation of data centers, which poses challenges for public power.
Supply for the final two weeks of the year will be virtually nonexistent, with only one deal, $24.46 million of taxable multi-family/project bonds from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, on the calendar for next week.
The Trump administration officially rolled out an Executive Order laying out federal policy on Artificial Intelligence which cements fears from states worried about the loss of broadband funding tied to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
As more states weigh legislative action to decouple from the provisions of One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launches an outreach mission to counter what he calls, a "blatant act of political obstructionism," that will lead to higher state taxes.
Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton finds that low debt burdens, stronger rainy-day funds, improved pension metrics and robust legal safeguards help states remain a core source of stability and diversification for muni portfolios despite slowing growth and fiscal headwinds.
Issuers mostly avoided pricing deals in the previous weeks the Fed met this year, but that's not the case this week, said Pat Luby, head of municipal strategy at CreditSights, and Wilson Lees, an analyst at the firm.
Dozens of lawmakers are bailing out of Congress before the midterm elections adding new wrinkles to the fading possibility of a second budget reconciliation which could require revenue raisers detrimental to the muni market.
The county treasurer's new report describing large hikes in Chicago residential tax bills effectively takes property tax hikes off the table for the city.
Cities and states are showing budget resilience as pressure from inflation, slowing revenue growth, and the end of federal pandemic fuels concerns about an uncertain future.
The muni market has "demonstrated more conviction with steady demand and appealing relative yields weighing on the long-end while shifting dynamics on the short-end have led to municipals selling-off," said Tim Iltz, fixed income credit and market analyst at HJ Sims.
The "data dumps" over the next several weeks could lead to market volatility, said Abdulla Begai, director and fixed income portfolio management at A&M Private Wealth Partners.
Issuance year-to-date is at $505.245, just shy of 2024's record of $507.585 billion, with $11.109 billion of supply on the calendar for the week of Nov. 17.
Illinois lawmakers sent Gov. JB Pritzker a bill to facilitate the use of STAR bonds for economic development, which has happened only once in 15 years.
"Continuing yield stability ... suggests a comfortable market that, even with the shutdown apparently close to ending, may resist/lag potential price/yield changes in taxables," said Matt Fabian, president of Municipal Market Analytics.
Illinois' General Assembly passed a bill that provides both governance reforms sought by lawmakers and funding to avert a Chicago transit fiscal cliff.
Tuesday saw a good slate of deals, including the acceleration of Ohio's $508.865 million of GOs and Austin's $419.035 million of electric utility system revenue refunding bonds.
"Normalized supply, a supportive rate environment and favorable technicals propelled the municipal market to the best October performance [in decades]," said Robert J. Lind.
Next week's issuance is slated to be "substantial" ? an estimated $13.1 billion ? although that is expected to be met with "solid" November reinvestment capital, J.P. Morgan strategists said.
Issuance year-to-date is $493.063 billion, up 9.3% from $451.079 billion over the same period. With issuance estimated at $13.118 billion in the first week of November, 2024's $500-plus billion record should fall within the next week or two.
Illinois' Grand Prairie Water Commission went to market Monday in a debut deal as it builds infrastrcture linking the Joliet area with Chicago's water system.
The city council of Harvey voted to declare the city financially distressed in a bid for state oversight, as the mayor warned of a city government shutdown.
The Roosevelt Institute rolled out a new report on munis revealing the latest trends in public finance along with critiques and recommendations for alternative ways to fund infrastructure.
Metra announced fare hikes in its 2026 budget, part of a broader regional policy requiring the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace to raise fares.
"If I wanted to target municipal finance, this would be a really good place for me to start," said Omid Rahmani, public finance cybersecurity lead at Fitch Ratings.
Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland will face economic costs from the Trump administration's showy deployments of National Guard troops and immigration agents.
The CTA's funds have been "put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting," Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said.
Two months after property tax payments would normally be due, Cook County, Illinois, is still struggling to send out accurate bills for the second part of 2024.
October has historically not been "particularly kind to the municipal market, as it tends to be one of the heavier supply months of the year," said Daryl Clements, a portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.
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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