Lynne Funk

"Should September's positive returns hold as we expect, it would mark the fourth consecutive month of positive total returns — the first such period since the five-month period spanning from March through July 2021," BofA strategists Yingchen Li and Ian Rogow said.

"We, the city of Philadelphia proper, we can't do it alone," Parker said in a keynote address at The Bond Buyer Infrastructure conference Tuesday. "We are grateful to our state and our federal partners, as well as the bond market."

While supply falls next week as investors await their first Fed rate cut in four years, it should pick up after the FOMC, Barclays PLC said, adding the 30-day visible pipeline "is at relatively manageable levels at the moment." Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply is at $10.09 billion.

For more than 40 years, she has been a transformative leader, mentor and friend.

"People could trust him and know they were in good hands," said Greg Carey, a co-worker and friend.

Municipal supply continues to grow as Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply sits at $20.02 billion and the municipal market will see one of the largest weeks of new-issuance at an estimated $13.35 billion, led by three billion-plus deals from Washington, D.C. ($1.6 billion), the New York City Transitional Finance Authority ($1.5 billion) and Illinois ($1 billion).

As extreme weather events occur with more frequency across the country, Michael Gaughan, executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, says municipal bond banks can help smaller communities deal with the effects of them. Gaughan speaks with The Bond Buyer's Lynne Funk on the effects of climate change and how the various levels of government can work together to address it.

Investors will see more than $7.8 billion of supply to start off September, following a record issuance month in August. The calendar is led by the North Texas Tollway Authority's $1.126 billion of system revenue refunding bonds while high-grade Massachusetts leads the competitive slate with $850 million of exempt and taxable general obligation bonds.

The calendar next week largely continues "the elevated pace of primary market volume seen since May, against a backdrop of broadly supportive fund flows (LSEG inflows for eight consecutive weeks), somewhat better dealer positions (although still heavy), mid-August reinvestment to spend, but lighter late summer attendance," said J.P. Morgan strategists led by Peter DeGroot.

As investors contemplate rate policy for the remainder of 2024, "there have been a few strategies from which to choose to boost yield — short positioning, curve extension and credit quality," noted Kim Olsan, senior fixed-income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.

Barclays rate strategists believe the 10-year part of the Treasury curve has room to cheapen. "In that case, tax-exempts will likely not only follow, but underperform."

Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows as investors added $528.7 million to funds after $674.1 million of inflows the week prior, according to LSEG Lipper. This marks seven straight weeks of inflows.

The Investment Company Institute reported $839 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Aug. 7 after $442 million of outflows the week prior. Exchange-traded funds saw $680 million of inflows after $950 million of inflows the previous week.

Muni returns so far in August are in the black, with the Bloomberg Municipal Index at 0.53% this month and 1.04% year to date. High-yield continues to outperform with returns at 0.68% in August and 5.99% in 2024.

Competitive deals are slated to total about $2.9 billion, near the highest for any week this year, said J.P. Morgan strategists.

In a week that culminated in headline-grabbing events — a presidential debate, several Supreme Court decisions, more macroeconomic data to add to Fed policy expectations — municipals closed on a quiet note and in the black for June.

Finance officials for the city decided to be the first municipal issuer to use the distributed ledger technology for a $10 million deal, banking on cost savings, better liquidity and more access for retail investors to their bonds. Mayor Tom Koch, CFO Eric Mason and Strategic Asset Manager Rick Coscia say it should be the first of many deals for the industry.

"It is hard to be overly excited about current valuations of tax-exempts relative to Treasuries; however, at tax-adjusted yields (using individual tax brackets), munis look quite attractive compared with other asset classes," noted Barclays PLC.

"It is important to remember that as long as the Fed's next move is to lower policy rates, bonds will do well," said Jack McIntyre, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global. "The employment market is in better balance, which is very important for the Fed — even more than inflation."

USTs spiked 17 basis points on the short end and 15 to 12 10-years and out following the release, while triple-A curves saw yields rise two to five basis points, depending on the yield curve, in a more muted and typical reaction for the asset class.