Jessica Lerner

Munis and USTs both received a boost from news of a possible peace deal with Iran.

"We're going to have some weak days, we're going to have some stronger days, maybe they wash out against each other," said Kim Olsan, senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.

Flagstar — one of the largest regional banks, operating around 340 locations across nine states — recently hired four senior executives.

As the war in Iran drags on, fears of inflation and higher oil prices are driving up yields, according to Schwab's Cooper Howard.

Hacking group ShinyHunters took credit for the data breach that affected the Instructure-owned Canvas learning management system.

Rate hikes appear to be more realistic following this week's hotter-than-expected consumer price index and producer price index data, said Kevin McGuigan, director at Municipal Market Analytics.

As SMAs have garnered attention, they shifted demand further down the yield curve into one- to five- or one- to 10-year area, though SMAs go out 15 or 20 years.

Munis should do "relatively well" this month, as investors will "focus on heavy summer redemptions; tax-exempt supply should remain healthy but is unlikely to overwhelm," said Barclays strategists.

Nearly 21% of muni volume traded electronically in the first quarter, up from the previous quarter and surpassing the previous record set in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a Coalition Greenwich report by Kevin McPartland and Neha Jain.

Spirit's ceasing operations after a failed $500 million bailout comes as the airport sector remains resilient despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, with spreads compressing compared to other transportation sectors despite rising fuel costs, Barclays strategists said.

With continued geopolitical tensions and surging oil prices, things could change on a dime, said Sweta Singh, founding partner and portfolio manager at City Different Investments.

Brightline Florida's financial statements for 2024 and 2025 by Ernst & Young LLP, filed Thursday on the Electronic Municipal Market Access website, warn that the company lacks the cash to cover pending debt payments

Municipal bond issuance was $47.6 billion in 797 deals for the month, down 7.8% year-over-year but still the third-biggest April in history.

The average muni bond trade size fell below $204,000 in the first quarter, down 5% from 2025, according to Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board data.

The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped over $7.704 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 4.9% year-over-year from the $7.342 billion in Q1 2025, according to LSEG data.

Butler Snow and Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth were new entrants to the top 10 year-over-year, knocking Chapman and Cutler and Nixon Peabody to the top 15.

Last year, 23 active ETFs launched along with nine passive ones. While the first quarter of the year bucks that trend as one active ETF launched compared to three passive ones, things could change the rest of the year, analysts say.

"Investors typically start positioning for heavy summer redemptions in summer, so the market typically performs well enough through the first half of June and we do not believe that this year will be any different," Barclays strategists said.

High-yield bond trading is "very bursty," with a lot of information at once and then nothing, said Matt Smith, founder and CEO of Spline Data.

Munivestor aims to help municipal governments by allowing them to raise capital directly from investors of all sizes in concert with advisors and regulated market partners.