Finance

Issuance continues to drive performance in the muni market. Despite Friday's run-up in USTs, muni yields adjusted "less dramatically," said Ajay Thomas, head of public finance at FHN Financial.

While muni primary supply falls this week, it is still robust. Issuance is an estimated $11.541 billion this week, with $8.501 billion of negotiated deals on tap, according to LSEG.

The muni market's strong performance in May and so far in June has been in line with historical trends, Mikhail Foux wrote for Barclays — but historical trends suggest the market will lose steam soon as supply builds.

"My 10 years at Academy Securities building out the municipal platform while mentoring military veterans has been the highlight of my career," Kolman said.

Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton recaps May's muni outperformance versus Treasuries and broad fixed income, highlighting how carry, reinvestment demand and spread compression drove strong returns and helped A3 and Baa credits lead the market.

"On a broad level, sentiment appears to reflect long-range optimism, though with some expected bumps along the way," NewSquare Capital's Kim Olsan wrote.

The Nassau County Tobacco Settlement Corp's ability to continue as a going concern depends on restructuring its tobacco debt, the county's audit said.

The revenue bonds would continue financing for a 15-year, $8.2 billion program to widen existing toll roads and build new ones.

"A lot of retail investors are still very distracted by the stock market," said Pat Luby, head of municipal strategy at CreditSights.

With nearly $4.5 billion of tax-exempt bonds, a restructuring or bankruptcy would be among the muni market's largest to date.

The Fed is expected to hold steady for the rest of the year as it navigates a renewed inflationary environment, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

S&P lifted Graham's general obligation bond and certificates of obligation rating to A from BBB due to the city's earlier-than-projected financial turnaround.

The status of the war in Iran is confusing, Hennion & Walsh's James Pruskowski said, but high absolute rates are giving the muni market a strong start to June.

Moody's Ratings has announced a credit rating downgrade to A2 from A1 for AU, due to operating pressure which comes on the heels of a 4% tuition hike earlier this spring.

The rating agency cited improving financial metrics and the port's importance to the regional economy.

Water supply woes continue to weigh on the Texas city's bond ratings, which have been hit with multi-notch downgrades and negative outlooks.

Considering the "huge calendar this week," NewSquare Capital's Kim Olsan said, "if we can hold steady, that's probably a good result."

Maryland drops Moodys a year after the ratings agency downgraded its credit as the state preps for a major bond sale this week.

This week will see continued stability, given the recent bumps on deals in the primary market last week and the lack of negative headlines about the war with Iran, said Elaine Brennan, executive director of the public finance department at Roosevelt & Cross.

The muni market is experiencing "some short-term optimism," said Hilltop Securities' Tom Kozlik, but there are still "pressures that could potentially be with us for not just weeks, but months."