Finance

Continued state and city support for the MTA's capital projects was the primary driver for Moody's Ratings upgrade to A2.

"The trend of heavy issuance that began last year has continued in the first half of 2025, surpassing even our rather optimistic expectations," said Barclays strategists Mikhail Foux, Grace Cen and Francisco San Emeterio.

The selloff highlights the lack of accurate pricing and credit information across the speculative-grade muni market.

So far, the financial market reaction has been limited, said Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

"The market itself should want to look at this because no one wants to give the perception of impropriety," said an investor of Stefanik's allegation that Harvard withheld material information regarding its ongoing conflict with the Trump administration.

With one full week of June left and the end of the second quarter approaching, the week was "a sort of Groundhog Day for municipal yields," said Kim Olsan, senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.

The FOMC's decision to "hold rates steady while signaling only two cuts this year was a subtle but powerful shift," said James Pruskowski, CIO at 16Rock Asset Management.

The rock-bottom prices show the risks of a high-yield market where liquidity is famously limited.

A growing rainy-day fund helped Alaska win a Moody's Ratings upgrade, bringing the state's issuer and general obligation bond ratings to Aa2 from Aa3.

"We expect no change to rates but [for the Federal Open Market Committee] to continue to signal that rate cuts should still be expected," said Cooper Howard, a fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab.