Taylor Riggs

A spate of deals from Illinois should be well received this week amid increased demand for taxable bonds, improved prospects for pension reform and a drop in issuance from the state this year.

The tax-exempt market weakened Monday afternoon, following Treasuries, as traders said munis played catch-up to the selloff last Friday.

The tax-exempt market is expecting a smaller week of issuance with less than $5 billion coming to market.

After a firm week in the tax-exempt market, munis ended on a slightly weaker note Friday as better-than-expected employment data prompted a risk-on trade.

The tax-exempt market posted a strong week of gains as May 1 coupon payments provided enough demand to meet supply.

The tax-exempt market continued to see a small selloff in reaction to Friday morning's better-than-expected employment numbers.

Fixed-income markets traded much lower Friday morning as stocks rallied and the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 15,000 on better-than-expected employment numbers.

The tax-exempt market proved it could handle a pricey, high-grade $350 million New Jersey deal following demand for a $1.2 billion Iowa fertilizer junk bond deal Tuesday.

The bond markets eyed the Wednesday afternoon Federal Open Market Committee meeting announcement that said the Fed would continue its $85 billion a month purchases.

Tax-exempts turned to the competitive market Wednesday as New Jersey is expected to price a high-grade deal following Tuesday's negotiated junk bond offering of $1.2 billion Iowa fertilizer bonds.

Significant demand for yield from investors pushed the $1.2 billion Iowa Finance Authority deal to the spotlight Tuesday.

The $1.2 billion Iowa Finance Authority deal stole most of the attention in the primary Tuesday afternoon as traders said any bond with yield is extremely well received.

Municipal bond traders eyed the largest deal of the week, $1.2 billion Iowa Finance Authority bonds, Tuesday morning.

With $5.77 billion of new issuance scheduled for this week, municipal bond traders said the market was firmer as demand outweighed supply.

The municipal bond continued to rally Monday afternoon, following Treasuries, as traders said the market was gearing up for primary issuance this week.

The tax-exempt market started a "manageable" week off on a firm note as demand outweighed supply.

With momentum coming from a worse-than-expected GDP number Friday morning, the municipal bond market ended the week on a strong note.

The municipal bond market underperformed Treasuries Friday afternoon as yields didn't fall as much as their taxable counterparts on a risk-off trade.

The tax-exempt market struggled to gain momentum all week as a limited primary calendar and uncertainty over the direction of interest rates in the secondary market kept buyers at bay.

Municipal bond trading had a muted reaction, following the lead of Treasuries, to a worse-than-expected GDP number Friday morning.