Finance

The new-issue calendar for the final week of August is estimated at a meager $2.979 billion. Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply sits at $5.76 billion.

Refinitiv Lipper reported $534.428 million of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday after $264.046 million of outflows into the funds the previous week.

The Puerto Rico General Fund has paid out $1.5 billion on the bankruptcies after initial expectations were $370 million over nearly a decade.

In other asset classes, there has been more transparency, activity and efficiency due to electronic trading. The muni market has been behind in realizing how beneficial electronic trading can be, sources said.

Supply scarcity is helping the market through the Treasury volatility. Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply currently sits at $4.72 billion.

This week's new-issue supply needs to be "priced to sell to pique investor interest," said noted Nuveen's Daniel Close and Anders S. Persson.

Tracey Manzi, senior investment strategist at Raymond James, talks with Chip Barnett about the fixed income markets today and how munis and Treasuries are doing. She says the number one issue clients are asking about is inflation. (20 minutes)

Continued pressure on the UST market coupled with the end of the summer reinvest may begin to test new issues as investors are able to be more selective.

Healthcare and transportation had the biggest contraction in issuance volume.

"Bearish Treasury moves have kept some pressure on the muni market and prevented an attempt to rally during the summer season when large redemptions trump issuance," BofA Global Research said in a report.

Refinitiv Lipper reported $264.046 million of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday after $278.559 million of inflows the previous week.

Municipal CUSIP request volume decreased in July on a year-over-year basis, following an increase in June, according to CUSIP Global Services.

The affirmation reflects Florida's "sound financial management practices, high gap-closing capacity and reserves, and low long-term liability," Fitch said.

Summer redemption season ends Tuesday when issuers return $9 billion of matured or called bond principal, said CreditSights strategists Pat Luby and Sam Berzok.

The investor-owned utility issues tax-exempt bonds through the Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance.

"The recent outperformance has valuations nearing stretched levels again," Birch Creek Capital said in a weekly report. "If USTs reverse the recent trend higher, we would not be surprised to see munis lag during the rally."

The rating agency's release ESG credit indicators for states and territories last year was blasted by GOP officials for being politicized, vague, and confusing.

Another day of mixed inflation data led Treasury yields to rise but munis mostly stayed put after underperforming a UST rally earlier in the week. The market is also focused on the $9 billion of redemption flows coming on Tuesday.

Refinitiv Lipper reported $278.559 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday, led by exchange-traded funds.

Three utility entities associated with the development of nuclear energy in Georgia have received better rating outlooks from S&P Global Ratings.