Finance

Munis were firmer to end the week but underperformed U.S. Treasuries.

Fitch raised Michigan's general obligation rating one notch to AA-plus.

As passengers return and revenues climb toward pre-pandemic norms, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has billions of capital construction on tap at the region's largest airports.

The bank in recent months shuttered its muni proprietary trading unit — which used the firm’s own cash to trade and invest — as part of a push to focus on providing more of its balance sheet to larger, institutional clients, according to people familiar with the matter.

Genesee County and Flint supported the bonds issued to finance construction of a pipeline with the county ultimately on the hook.

Investors pulled $698.782 million out of municipal bond mutual funds, per Refinitiv Lipper data, versus the $206.127 million of inflows the week prior. High-yield saw small inflows.

The Investment Company Institute reported investors added $543 million to muni bond mutual funds in the week ending July 13 compared to the $1.061 billion of outflows in the previous week.

Looking forward, a myriad of factors, including spiking fuel prices, fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the heat wave, “will facilitate recessionary(ish) economic outcomes by year end," noted an MMA report.

Issuers come to market more often and with larger deals when muni bond funds are enjoying inflows, a new paper contends. But not all market participants agree.

Munis are improving, but positive second-half municipal returns likely won’t be enough to offset the major losses of the first half of the year.

The MSRB has released a mid-year research report showing the sharp decline of taxable issuances, significant outflows from mutual funds and a particularly fruitful last few months for individual investors.

Investors will be greeted Monday with a new-issue calendar estimated at $7 billion. While issuance will likely come in above average this month, negative net issuance is still expected.

Ownership issues seem to be worked out, more or less, but reopening the refinery remains in doubt.

BlackRock's Head of Municipals Peter Hayes lays out the muni landscape for the rest of the year, highlighting opportunities for the asset class after the severe volatility so far in 2022.

Investors added $206.127 million to municipal bond mutual funds, according to Refinitiv Lipper data.

The condition of infrastructure projects should be included in bond pricing metrics as many infrastructure assets around the country have turned into liabilities.

Primary market takes focus for large revenue deals from the New York State Thruway Authority and the Colorado Health Facilities Authority.

Munis have been steady to firmer in spots over the past few trading sessions as fundamentals have taken over. Triple-A 30-year munis dipped below 3% Tuesday, the first time since early June.

The $11-billion-plus calendar is the largest in eight weeks and includes two large high-grade issuers which may entice buyers into the market.

Seventeen months after Winter Storm Uri hit the Southwest, state-sanctioned securitizations are queuing up to mitigate a huge spike in energy costs for customers, with an Oklahoma deal the latest to price.