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Initial jobless claims surged, as expected, hitting an all-time high of a seasonally adjusted 3.283 million in the week ended March 21, as the impacts of the coronavirus-driven closures showed in the numbers, the Labor Department said. The previous high for claims was 695,000 in October 1982.

With outflows occurring, Eric Kazatsky, muni strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, maintains that muni appetite will vary directly with the credit hits that will be sustained in this environment. In some ways, he sees a return to pricing for the risk and the fundamentals. Taxable munis and ESG bonds will continue to gain in popularity. The future depends on the level of fiscal support in order to emerge from the crisis. John Hallacy hosts. Taped two weeks ago

Ratings for convention center financings and for hotels build to support the venues are under pressure.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will maintain its muscular efforts to support the flow of credit in the U.S. economy as Americans hunker down from the coronavirus pandemic.

Municipal benchmark yields were lowered by 60 to 80 basis points across the curve. Some trades pointed to nearly a 1% bump on short-term paper while state and local governments grapple with downgrades and revenue shortfalls.

Thirty-six firms made the cut, and eight didn't, when Illinois reviewed broker-dealer qualifications for new underwriting pools.

The Department of Finance told department heads it will be re-evaluating budget requests under a workload budget scenario.

President Donald Trump wants to re-open the U.S. economy by mid-April but Americans may take some persuading that it’s safe to emerge, said Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard.

In the MSRB’s first report showing data from March 24, trades topped 87,215, which is likely a record, said Marcelo Vieira, MSRB director of research.

With the Federal Reserve bringing the target rate down to the zero lower bound, communication takes on a vital role, and, if used properly, can enhance Fed actions.