New Volume to Test Appetite

California and New York will share the new-issue spotlight in the long-term market this week, aiming to grab investors’ attention before the Labor Day hiatus and harness some of the demand that helped sell last week’s large deals.

California’s general obligation bonds and a revenue financing by the New York City Housing Development Corp.  will test the strength of the pre-holiday market as part of a $4.67 billion slate of long-term volume expected to be sold by issuers this week, according Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer. That compares to the prior week when a revised $3.76 billion was actually priced, according to Thomson Reuters. Texas  plans a$7.2 billion sale of tax and revenue anticipation noteson Tuesday.

California will bring its $764 million of competitive general obligation bonds on Tuesday, after credit rating companies upgraded the state and raised their outlooks on the debt, citing  its stronger budgetary and cash positions.

The deal is structured with $560 million of GO refunding bonds maturing from 2014 to 2024, in 2028, and from 2030 to 2033, as well as $205 million of new-money debt maturing in 2022, from 2024 to 2027, and in 2029. Proceeds will finance a variety of infrastructure projects.

The state’s latest  GO upgrade, to A from A-minus by Fitch Ratings, came on Aug. 5. In addition, Standard & Poor’s affirmed its A rating, while Moody’s affirmed its A1 rating – both with stable outlooks, ahead of the sale.

Alan Schankel, managing director of municipal bond strategy and research at Janney Montgomery Scott expects the deal to do well.

“Deal size is digestible, and the credit trend is positive, with two upgrades this year from Fitch and S&P,” he said. Tax increases approved in November and less new-money borrowing than past years should also be selling points, he said.

The largest negotiated deal is the New York City Housing Development Corp.’s $654 million revenue financing, which is scheduledfor pricing by JPMorgan Securities on Wednesday following a Tuesday retail order period.

The capital fund grant program bonds consist of $183.9 million of Series A bonds and $470.81 million of Series B bonds – both of which are rated AA-minus by Standard & Poor’s.

Last week, large deals in the primary market met with strong demand, even though municipal bond funds reported $2.14 billion of outflows, yields rose, and large bid wanted lists spurred volatility. The effects seem to be focused mostly on  the secondary market, Schankel said.

On Wednesday, underwriters at Bank of America Merrill Lynch were able to cut yields on a $443 million offering for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York by as much as 10 basis points -- and move the institutional pricing up -- after retail investors placed $450 million in orders by mid-morning.

At the repricing, the 2043 final maturity came with a 5% coupon to yield 5.07% -- 63 basis points higher than the comparable generic, triple-A GO scale at the time, according to MMD.

Other sales planned for  this week include  two water and wastewater revenue refunding deals by, Atlanta, Ga., on Tuesday totaling more than $550 million.

Wells Fargo Securities will price $328.7 million of Series 2013A, which are rated Aa3 by Moody’s, AA-plus by Standard & Poor’s, and A-plus by Fitch.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. will price $222.38 million of Series 2013A debt, which is rated Aa3 by Moody’s and A-plus by the two other major rating agencies. Proceeds from both series will refund all or a portion of outstanding bonds in Series 1999A and Series 2001A, but Series B proceeds will also refund all or a portion of outstanding debt from Series 2004.

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