Finance

LSEG Lipper reported fund inflows of $447 million while high-yield muni bond funds saw another round of inflows at $246 million, marking the 12th consecutive week of positive flows in that space.

Most of the selling during tax season happens on the front end of the curve, said Wesly Pate, senior portfolio manager at Income Research + Management.

Absolute yields "remain attractive in the context of the trading range over the past three years and our longer-term projections for lower rates this year," according to J.P. Morgan strategists.

The former Citi banker earlier this month was tapped by Huntington National Bank to become the firm's head of public finance, becoming the fourth woman to ascend to the role in the municipal industry.

The onslaught of new-issuance and approaching month- and quarter-end led triple-A yields to rise up to seven basis points on the short end and as much as three to five elsewhere along the curve, despite stronger U.S. Treasuries. Short ratios rose as a result.

The UC Regents will close the books on its $1.1 billion refunding deal that included the refunding BABs Wednesday. Investors do not appear to be penalizing the issuer in secondary trading as spreads have stayed at or near the original pricing.

Since becoming head of public finance at Oppenheimer in January, Coolidge said she'll be looking to pick up opportunity amid last year's Wall Street retrenchment and offer clients financing solutions from across the firm.

"The upgrades incorporate our view of New Hampshire's improved economic and demographic growth trends that continue to perform near or above those of the U.S. and regional peers," said analyst Thomas Zemetis.

This week's new-issue calendar grows and includes some "common benchmark names like CA GO, NYC GO, and WA GO," Birch Creek strategists said.

Three Pillars Senior Living has already pre-sold 70% of the planned units that will support the bonds.

Vivian Altman ascended to managing director and head of public finance at Janney Montgomery Scott in 2017, and is now one of four women leaders in the space.

The calendar is led by several high-profile deals, including $2.7 billion of GOs from California, $1.5 billion from New York City and $1.1 billion from Washington. High-yield gets another dose of unrated project finance debt from Miami Worldcenter Project tax increment revenue bonds. The Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply sits at $12.06 billion.

Hallam will handle high-yield muni sales and trading, focusing on large institutional accounts at the firm.

The Washington refunding deal is built on an extraordinary optional redemption of Build America Bonds despite criticism from investors who hold them.

LSEG Lipper reported fund inflows of $63.8 million for the week ending Wednesday following $300.5 million of inflows the prior week. High-yield saw its 11th consecutive week of inflows at $180.4 million, down from $278.6 million the week prior.

The extraordinary redemptions being used to call Build America Bonds "are based on a creative but flawed legal argument driven by the current change in interest rates," said Kramer Levin partner Amy Caton.

Citi's exit comes amid the larger trend of broker-dealers downsizing balance sheets, which can hurt secondary market liquidity, particularly in times of stress. Other market players are coming into the fold.

States' January revenues were down from a year earlier.

"The upgrades reflect our view of Louisiana's demonstrated commitment to improving and maintaining reserves above levels that we consider very strong," said S&P.

"The balance of March may continue to be better-than-expected, particularly given existing demand and decent reinvestment needs over the next 30 days," according to Oppenheimer's Jeff Lipton.