Christine Albano is a reporter in the Investor’s & Investing beat, which she has covered for the past two decades. She has a wide range of buy side sources in the municipal market and has covered trends affecting retail investors, institutions, municipal mutual funds, tax-exempt money market funds, and the high-yield beat. She has also written about some of the industry’s biggest issues, such as historic defaults in Orange County, Calif., Puerto Rico, and Jefferson County, Ala., as well as the collapse of the variable-rate demand market. In addition, she reported on the subsequent 2008 financial crisis, and the death of municipal bond pioneer Jim Lebenthal. She provided next day coverage of the impact on the municipal bond market of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and recently interviewed The Vanguard Group Inc. founder, former chief executive officer, and investment guru John C. Bogle about the best investing advice for the municipal market.
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Gross underwriting spreads rose slightly for the first time in 2023 after both trending lower for nearly the last 15 years and hitting a 20-year low last year on increased competition, lower issuance and use of technology.
August 21 -
"The recent outperformance has valuations nearing stretched levels again," Birch Creek Capital said in a weekly report. "If USTs reverse the recent trend higher, we would not be surprised to see munis lag during the rally."
By Lynne FunkAugust 14 -
While triple-As were little changed the past two sessions, some damage was done last week, leaving market participants generally less optimistic for the final weeks of August.
By Lynne FunkAugust 7 -
Less volatility, sustained credit quality and attractive yields should prevail in the second half of 2023, muni experts said.
July 26 -
With the third quarter officially under way, municipal bond experts say the tax-exempt market is poised for better performance and stronger market technicals ahead in the second half.
July 11 -
This week should see a return to more normal supply, which might be a little higher than average for the year so far, said Daniel Solender, partner and director of tax-free fixed income at Lord Abbett & Co.
July 10 -
The fund aims to provide capital preservation and use hedging strategies designed to minimize interest rate, event and directional risk.
July 3 -
With the first half of the year ending on Friday, municipal sources say the second half of the year will be off to a good start.
June 28 -
The Investment Company Institute reported investors added $16 million to municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending June 14, after $495 million of inflows the previous week.
June 21 -
Those "holding out for wider yields or relative value" are frustrated due to an extremely tight muni range, but FHN Financial's Kim Olsan said, "the reality is that supply has yet to materialize to force that change."
June 15