Jessica Lerner is a senior reporter and buy-side specialist for Bond Buyer where she writes the daily market column, the monthly volume story and longer trend stories. Prior to this, she worked as a beat reporter at two Connecticut newspapers. She earned her master's in business and economics reporting from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and her bachelor's in journalism and statistics from the University of Connecticut.
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The calendar will rebound with an estimated $7.141 billion next week with $6.323 billion of negotiated deals on tap and $817.6 million on the competitive calendar.
September 1 -
Refinitiv Lipper reported $407.976 million of inflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday after $534.428 million of outflows into the funds the previous week.
August 31 -
Despite this, August saw the largest monthly volume of 2023, helped by several billion-dollar deals and multiple Texas school district deals.
August 31 -
"We've seen more buyer attention at this time of the year versus what we generally would experience as we approach the beginning of September," said Morgan Stanley's Matthew Gastall.
August 30 -
Over the last month or so there's been some volatility in the muni market driven by the Treasury side, said Daryl Clements, municipal portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.
August 29 -
The muni market "finally succumbed to the month-long rate selloff that had seen valuations test historically rich levels," said Birch Creek Capital strategists in a weekly report.
August 28 -
The new-issue calendar for the final week of August is estimated at a meager $2.979 billion. Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply sits at $5.76 billion.
August 25 -
Refinitiv Lipper reported $534.428 million of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday after $264.046 million of outflows into the funds the previous week.
August 24 -
In other asset classes, there has been more transparency, activity and efficiency due to electronic trading. The muni market has been behind in realizing how beneficial electronic trading can be, sources said.
August 24 -
Supply scarcity is helping the market through the Treasury volatility. Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply currently sits at $4.72 billion.
August 23 -
This week's new-issue supply needs to be "priced to sell to pique investor interest," said noted Nuveen's Daniel Close and Anders S. Persson.
August 22 -
Continued pressure on the UST market coupled with the end of the summer reinvest may begin to test new issues as investors are able to be more selective.
August 21 -
Total volume in the first half of the year was $180.882 billion in 3,853 deals, down 17.1% from the $218.230 billion in 5,444 over the same period in 2022, according to Refinitiv data.
August 21 -
In comparison to the $17.689 billion of transactions completed in the first half of 2022, the top two municipal bond insurers wrapped $15.571 billion in 2023.
August 21 -
"Bearish Treasury moves have kept some pressure on the muni market and prevented an attempt to rally during the summer season when large redemptions trump issuance," BofA Global Research said in a report.
August 18 -
Refinitiv Lipper reported $264.046 million of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday after $278.559 million of inflows the previous week.
August 17 -
Municipal CUSIP request volume decreased in July on a year-over-year basis, following an increase in June, according to CUSIP Global Services.
August 16 -
Summer redemption season ends Tuesday when issuers return $9 billion of matured or called bond principal, said CreditSights strategists Pat Luby and Sam Berzok.
August 15 -
The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped $15.571 billion in the first half of 2023, a 12% decrease from the $17.689 billion of deals done in the first half of 2022, according to Refinitiv data. Insurance was up in Q2.
August 15 -
Late summer is "rarely a good time for our asset class," Barclays strategists said, noting the municipal investment grade index lost money in August three years in a row, and 2023 seems to follow this trend.
August 4
