Finance

Ellis Phifer, managing director and senior strategist in the fixed income research department at Raymond James, talks with Chip Barnett about the state of the bond markets. (Taped Feb. 16; 15 minutes)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify beore Congress twice this week and Friday brings the latest employment report.

Turmoil at the community college has placed its accreditation in jeopardy and resulted in a rating downgrade.

A stronger 2021 aided hospital balance sheets for those whose fiscal years end on June 30 based on a review of hospital operating medians

The much-delayed $3.5 billion deal has an optional limited make-whole redemption if state lawmakers appropriate funds to defray costs for natural gas customers.

The "week's substantial primary market calendar of $10-plus billion will be a big test for where market demand stands," said Tom Kozlik, head of public policy and municipal strategy at HilltopSecurities Inc.

The 10- and 30-year Treasuries haven't reached these levels since November.

One public hospital district violated a debt service covenant and was downgraded to junk; the other declared a fiscal emergency and seeks an outside partner.

Outflows returned, with the Investment Company Institute reporting investors pulled $1.148 billion from mutual funds in the week ending Feb. 22, after $931 million of inflows the previous week.

The bond markets are witnessing a rare situation that could hinder spending on infrastructure projects around the country, said Amanda Hindlian, president of fixed income and data services at ICE.

The availability of higher yields has brought some investors into the market — even though volume in the primary and secondary markets are on the thin side and the municipal market is a bit of a mixed bag right now.

Investors will be greeted Monday with a new-issue calendar estimated at $4.098 billion.

Moody's and S&P also warn of the potential for further downgrades; UC Health has begun to implement financial turnaround strategies amid operating losses.

A key consideration in the upgrade was the state's recent actions in both addressing longstanding obligation repayments and rapidly repaying obligations taken on during the pandemic-induced recession, S&P said.

An improving tone was apparent in the municipal market midweek — after a topsy-turvy ride last week when the market saw a close to 50-basis point adjustment to the front end of the triple-A municipal yield curve.

Earlier in the pandemic, bond values showed a greater divergence among local government issuers tracked, but that has reverted to pre-pandemic levels, although work-from-home and other uncertainties still take a toll.

Inflows continued with the Investment Company Institute reporting investors added $931 million to mutual funds in the week ending Feb. 15, after $2.194 billion of inflows the previous week.

"The close to 50 bp adjustment to the front end of the AAA municipal curve, taken at face value, appears to be a huge step toward pricing normalization for tax-exempts," said Eric Kazatsky, head of municipal strategy at Bloomberg Intelligence.

A bill introduced by Sen. Dave Min would prohibit banks that invest in gunmaking from working on any aspect of state public finances, including bond sales.

The taxable bonds, which finally received state approval, will be offered with maturities in 2033 and 2039.