Finance

BlackRock's move comes as money continues to flow out of muni mutual funds into ETFs and SMAs.

Munis continue to outpace USTs as ratios on the front end continue to richen relative to USTs, Jason Wong said.

A Moody's Ratings upgrade means Hawaii DOT's airport division is headed to market with across-the-board double-A ratings.

Muni yields were bumped one to eight basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell three to 10 basis points, with the greatest gains out long.

Tax exemption concerns — though an elimination is unlikely — and the loss of federal stimulus will "most assuredly pull forward delayed issuance, with the first half of 2025 volume to exceed second half volume," said James Welch, a municipal portfolio manager at Principal Asset Management.

To close out the day, USTs remained mixed, with yields rising on the short end and falling out long, while munis were changed up to a basis point, depending on the curve.

The San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency tapped reserves to make early bond payments saving $203 million. It's parent agency, the Transportation Corridor Agencies, hopes to save $1.79 billion with additional early pay downs by 2030.

Analysts Chris Collins and Melissa Nicandri were among the 64 passengers and crew aboard American Airlines flight 5342.

Investors added $741.7 million to municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Wednesday, following $2.078 billion of inflows the prior week, according to LSEG Lipper data.

Even with the possibility of inflation and fiscal policy-induced headwinds, there is much to be optimistic about in the muni market, despite some possible near-term turbulence, said GW&K strategists.

Two public electric utilities in Los Angeles County received negative outlooks from S&P citing costs, liabilities, and litigation stemming from wildfires.

The Fed meets this week, but the probability of another cut at Wednesday's meeting seems low amid elevated inflation and growth data, said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

"There are a lot of moving parts here with the potential to either help or hinder the Fed's quest for price stability and maximum employment" this year, noted BMO Deputy Chief Economist Michael Gregory, who says the Fed will "stand pat."

Tech stocks suffered on "worries that Beijing is becoming increasingly competitive in the high-stakes artificial intelligence race," said José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust has seen higher demand from local utilities for loans because of climate change threats and clean water regulations. 

Kroll Bond Rating Agency downgraded Chicago's general obligation bonds to A-minus from A, citing high fixed costs and one-time fixes. The outlook is negative.

Issuance for next week falls to an estimated $5.151 billion, with $3.959 billion of negotiated deals and $1.193 billion of competitive deals on tap.

Investors added $2.028 billion to municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Wednesday, following $251.7 million of outflows the prior week, according to LSEG Lipper data.

Issuance was led by a $2 billion retail pricing from the University of California in the negotiated market and a $1.2 billion competitive deal from Washington.

Broker-dealer Siebert Williams Shank's foundation donated $100,000 to two organizations aiding Los Angeles-area residents affected by the wildfires.