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"You would think global instability leads to flight for quality, but you also have the inflationary pressures that come with higher oil prices. I would say the inflationary pressures have been winning, and that's why you're seeing Treasury and muni rates move higher," said Keith Richard, head of public finance at Siebert Williams Shank.

The current lateral recruiting marketplace for public finance attorney talent is "highly competitive," according to Nixon Peabody's Julie Seymour.

The weakness in fixed-income markets comes after stocks and bonds saw strength Monday following President Donald Trump's announcement of a five-day pause on strikes on Iranian power plants amid talks between the two countries.

José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, breaks down the FOMC decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

Federal Reserve Gov. Stephen Miran said it is too early to judge how U.S. involvement in the war with Iran will affect inflation and monetary policy.

While it's unclear how long the war in the Middle East will drag on, once President Donald Trump announces an end to the war, things could change "on a dime," as happened with the tariff-induced volatility in April 2025, said Peter Block, managing director of credit strategy at Ramirez.

"Looking at where oil was and the potential for disruption, and this being tax season and issuers having to pull deals, there's no reason why yields wouldn't have been higher," said Matt Fabian, president of Municipal Market Analytics.

Some states and local governments "went on spending sprees" with pandemic funds and "got ratings upgrades that didn't have a lot to do with fiscal management," said an investor.

"Everyone that is in this industry relies on our technology," CEO Mark Kim said Thursday at a BDA conference in Chicago.