Oliver Renick

The market for tax-exempt municipal bonds firmed Thursday as yields followed treasuries after a government report showed low inflation.

Municipal bond yields, which softened this week after a rally in the beginning of January, began to firm Thursday as new deals were well-received in the primary market.

Municipal bonds were steady Thursday morning as yields remained at higher levels than the previous week, when tax-exempt bonds rallied.

Bond dealers expect 2014 to be the second-worst year for municipal issuance in a decade, and some predict the lowest volume since 2000, as the Federal Reserve's tapering program pushes interest rates higher.

Cozen O'Connor, one of the law firms that represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its winning case against the City of Harrisburg's bankruptcy petition, added a Midwest-based lawyer to its public finance team.

Tax-exempt municipal bonds rallied in the first full market week of January, as reinvestment cash hit investor portfolios and government data suggested a sluggish economy.

The municipal bond market rallied Friday, with yields down as much as ten basis points on some points of the curve, after a U.S. government report showed few new jobs were added in December

The municipal bond market rallied through Friday afternoon with shrinking yields after a U.S. government report showed few new jobs were added in December.

Municipal bond yields plunged Friday morning after a U.S. jobs report showed the economy may not be improving as quickly as expected.

The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes slid in the week ended Jan. 9.

Most trading activity in munis Thursday was in the secondary market, even as some of the biggest deals of the week came to the market.

Several new deals in the tax-exempt marketplace Thursday showed munis remaining firm, even as some traders remained dubious ahead of the U.S. employment report Friday.

The municipal market remained firm Thursday morning as traders looking at a small new issue calendar awaited Friday's U.S. employment data report.

Thornburg Investment Management has launched a low duration municipal bond fund aimed at investors looking for a tax-exempt income stream as interest rates rise.

JPMorgan and Goldman, Sachs & Co. gained ground on Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the rankings of leading municipal bond dealers in 2013, a year marked by lower issuance.

Oppenheimer & Co . added two managing directors as part of an effort to expand the firm's fixed income business and strengthen the municipal finance team.

The municipal market will see the first substantial influx of new issue volume this week after a holiday lull that was marked by few new bonds.

The market for tax-exempt municipal bonds weakened Friday following a weeklong softening in Treasuries. Activity picked up with traders returning from holiday but remained low overall, traders said.

Muni bond funds that report flows weekly recorded outflows of $1.49 billion for the week of Dec. 25, down from $1.71 in the week prior, Lipper FMI numbers showed.

The tax-exempt municipal market showed soft pockets along the yield curve on Friday as some traders returned from the holiday. Activity overall remained low, traders said.