Hillary Flynn

Municipal yields held steady on a quiet Friday as market participants prepared for Memorial Day weekend.

The parched market for municipal bond refundings may get some relief next year as call provisions kick in on debt issued a decade ago, easing a supply squeeze that has caused spreads to tighten this year..

Municipal bond fund inflows declined in the week ending May 15 as gains by high-yield funds slowed.

The two biggest deals scheduled for next week are refundings, but market participants do not believe refundings will pick up this year.

Standard & Poor's, citing concern over hidden debt exposure in the municipal bond market, sent letters this month warning issuers they could lose their ratings if they don't disclose their direct loans.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s $1 billion of revenue bonds were priced by Goldman, Sachs Tuesday, testing the market for maturities ranging from 13 to 21 years.

Traders said the market is tired of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York name, but will buy the $198.6 million of school district revenue bond financing program revenue bonds that came to market Tuesday anyway.

The $1 billion of New Jersey Turnpike Authority revenue bonds priced by Goldman, Sachs Tuesday, the largest deal expected this week, will receive strong demand from the buyside, market participants said.

Tobacco bonds have lured investors with some of the highest returns in the muni market this year, raising concern among strategists that traditional municipal bond investors' are taking on too much risk.

McGraw Hill Financial's S&P Capital IQ has partnered with Tradeweb Direct to launch Odd-Lot Valuations, a pricing service that joins a growing number of efforts aimed at improving transparency in odd-lot bond trades.

Barclays Capital sees value in standalone Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle bonds now that yields have risen over concerns about potential shortfalls in U.S. highway funding.

Municipal bond fund flows turned negative for the week ending April 30, as funds reported $26.38 million of outflows.

Municipal bond sales fell again in April, mired in a weakening economy. Sales in April totaled $23.02 billion in 796 issues, a $4.61 billion drop from March, according to preliminary data from Thomson Reuters.

The spread between MCDX's Series 22 and Series 21 presents investors with another way to short Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bonds.

BMO Capital Markets has hired Garth Salisbury as the managing director of its public finance group's energy and infrastructure banking team. Salisbury will be in BMO's San Francisco office. He jumped to BMO from RBC, where he had been a managing director.

Municipal yields rose Wednesday morning as mixed economic data were released.

Municipal funds reported the biggest inflows in seven weeks, as interest rate concerns faded and investors sought high yields.

Municipal fund flows rebounded the week ending April 9, as funds reported the largest amount of inflows since the start of 2014.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. launched a fund designed to avoid risk, protecting investors’ capital by focusing on high-grade intermediate maturities.

Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. jumped up the municipal bond senior manager ranks in the first quarter, rising to ninth place from 18th on the strength of two big airport and utility revenue deals.