Frank Gargano

Tax-exempt munis, supported by USTs, are having a very good month as MMD yields are down 30 to 35 basis points out long, and both the investment-grade and high-yield indices are seeing gains of more than 2% month-to-date, Barclays strategists led by Mikhail Foux said.

The muni market is in a position to rally in the latter part of this year, said Daryl Clements, a portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.

Looking solely at internal factors, "the municipal market itself is still doing well, reasonably via the temporary drop in new issue supply amid a more lasting reduction in reinvestment flows," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

Issuance for the week of Sept. 2 is at an estimated $7.457 billion, with $6.179 billion of negotiated deals and $1.278 billion of competitive deals on tap, according to LSEG.

"We expect subdued activity again [this] week heading into the Labor Day holiday," Birch Creek strategists said.

Munis underperformed a UST rally, which had everything to do with Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium and future Fed action, said Cooper Howard, a fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab.

"If unfavorable economic numbers ... are released next month, we should expect a hold on any rate cuts and a possible rate hike to follow, putting a damper on any positive returns for the rest of the year," said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

Issuance for the week of Aug. 18 remains elevated at an estimated at $6.166 billion, with $5.065 billion of negotiated deals and $1.101 billion of competitive deals on tap, according to LSEG.

Returns for the month currently stand at 0.64%, which have "pushed muni returns back into the green with year-to-date returns of 0.09%," said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

Over the past three trading sessions, MMD yields have been bumped nine to 12 basis points, while UST yields have fallen over 20 basis points on the front of the curve.

"If the narrative takes hold that the Fed is behind the eight ball and will need to cut rates several times in the coming months to catch up to the realities of a weaker economy, we expect muni yields will drift lower alongside treasuries," Birch Creek strategists said.

The asset class got a "much-needed boost" from inflows into muni mutual funds last week, said Birch Creek strategists.

Texas Capital joined the ranks of firms like Crews & Associates adding public finance talent, while SIFMA and Arteria AI partnered on a new platform in May.

In April, WisdomTree launched two new exchange-traded funds, Nuveen debuted a high-income separately-managed account product and more.

Harvard University's ongoing legal battles and the return to market by Chicago's Regional Transportation Authority lead a host of municipal topics in April.

The tax exemption is in the eye of a legislative storm to extend President Donald Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but is it only the start of what's to come?

The Boston-based Nixon Peabody added seasoned municipal finance expert Michael Melzer as a partner, while Barclays lost three professionals.

In March, BlackRock debuted a new tax-exempt municipal interval fund, IMTC inked partnerships with Franklin Templeton and T. Rowe Price and more.

Notable deals include a $600 million refunding deal by the New York City Municipal Water Authority and almost $400 million from Rochester, Minnesota.

Firms like Siebert Williams Shank and Huntington have begun stacking their benches with municipal finance talent amid tax exemption uncertainty.