Finance

Those "holding out for wider yields or relative value" are frustrated due to an extremely tight muni range, but FHN Financial's Kim Olsan said, "the reality is that supply has yet to materialize to force that change."

Munis did not follow USTs yet, "but given the outperformance of munis over the last couple days and while I wouldn't be surprised if they weaken a little given how expensive ratios are," said Breckinridge's Matt Buscone.

The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District is selling bonds to continue renovations on the Caesars Superdome, which will host the 2025 Super Bowl.

While "munis are set up for better performance, perhaps modest single-digit returns, the near-term outlook for fund flows will make for a challenging read," Oppenheimer's Jeff Lipton said.

"The state has not issued general obligation debt since July 2022 and will be able to take advantage of strong summer redemption money," said Mary Garver, director of bond financing at the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission.

"We're looking to grow our team in various parts of municipal practice and it was time to really add a banker in the Midwest," Janney's head of public finance, Vivian Altman said. "We see a lot of potential in the Midwest."

Matthew Gastall and Daryl Helsing of Morgan Stanley delve into how municipals are performing versus other asset classes, where taxable munis fit and how they see the market performing heading into the summer reinvest. Jessica Lerner hosts. (36 minutes)

Elevated new issues, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sale lists, and heavy reinvestment cash "helped to offset each other [last] week and keep the muni market stable," said Birch Creek strategists.

Bond traders have overestimated month-over-month headline inflation heading into four of the last seven Consumer Price Index releases, says strategist Raghav Datla.

Federal Reserve data shows that retail ownership of municipals rose $58.8 billion, or 3.7% quarter-over-quarter, to $1.67 trillion. Bank ownership fell in the first quarter by $13.3 billion.

Municipals have continued outperforming, "building on the trend that started in late May," Barclays strategists Mikhail Foux, Clare Pickering and Mayur Patel said.

Molloy will be leaving the banking giant for the nonprofit sector. Dan Tomson and Paul Creedon, co-heads of public finance, will be taking over his responsibilities.

"How fund flows end up shaping up this week is going to be very meaningful for how we start the summer," said Tom Kozlik, managing director and head of public policy and municipal strategy at HilltopSecurities.

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet next week with many experts expecting to see a pause in federal fund rate hikes after ten straight upticks.

Weekday ridership on the farebox-dependent regional transit system is below 40% of pre-pandemic levels. Some lawmakers are pushing a state transit rescue package.

The Investment Company Institute reported investors pulled another $374 million out of municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending May 31, after $671 million of outflows the previous week

The upgrade lifts $1 billion of the Jacksonville system's water and sewer system senior revenue bonds to AA-plus from AA.

Gambone, who has 30 years of experience in the municipal finance industry, replaced retiring head of public finance Eileen Solla-Diaz.

"June started out fairly strong for the municipal market as the relative cheapness attracted investors looking for an opening to start buying bonds at higher yields," said Roberto Roffo, managing director and portfolio manager at SWBC Investment Company.

Last week, munis underperformed the Treasury market "across the curve through Thursday with yields lower just 13bps," according to Birch Creek strategists. However, they said Friday's rally "in the front end helped pull shorter maturity munis ahead."