Finance

Municipal bond issuers in the Southwest, despite the pandemic — or perhaps in part because of the conditions it created — set a record for annual issuance.

The sell-off in the back half of February brought negative 1.59% returns for the month and a negative 0.96% return for the year so far. Taxables and high-yields fared slightly better.

Northeast municipal issuers sold $129.99 billion of debt in 2020 amid the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Municipal issuers in the Southwest sold $93.5 billion of debt in 2020, a year in which the coronavirus upended the way bond business is done.

The market took a much-needed breather Friday and U.S. Treasuries pared Thursday's losses to see the 10-year fall 12 basis points to 1.42% and the 30-year 17 basis points to 2.11%. Municipals were steady at 1.14% in 10 years and 1.82% in 30.

S&P said the proposed budget represents a step in the right direction but it will weigh the final budget and other developments before acting on its BBB-minus rating.

Municipal bond mutual funds took notice of rate movements with Refinitiv Lipper reporting $37 million of inflows after 15 weeks of multi-billion inflows, the lowest since Dec. 2. High-yield funds took a big hit with $330 million of outflows.

Global bond yield move suggests financial markets are much more optimistic about the economy than the Fed.

The governor wants the first full actuarial contribution in 25 years, spurring discussion about what else one of the nation's lowest-rated states should do.

Moody's affirmed the state's general obligation bonds at Aa3, and credited it with significant long-term progress in restoring financial reserves and liquidity.

High-grade deals priced and secondary trading showed bonds exchanging hands at yields higher than triple-A benchmarks in some cases, but a healthy two-way flow was evident, even if there are signals that yields have not yet hit a ceiling.

The rating agency called the commonwealth's proposed rainy day fund withdrawal moderate.

Data released Monday showed economic strength with further improvement ahead. U.S. Treasuries were off by five basis points but municipals saw aggressive eight to 10 basis point swings to higher yields across the curve.

Muni yields rose another five basis points on the 10- and 30-year, bringing the total cuts to scales to 18 and 17 basis points, respectively, from Tuesday as the asset class moved closer to UST movements after lagging that market since the start of the year.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's budget proposal, rosier revenue estimates and the prospects of more federal aid are only short-term salve for the state's long-term fiscal strains.

Federal Highway Administration officials have told the mass transit agency they would fast-track an environmental review process.

Muni yields have climbed double-digit basis points in a week but technicals remain strong. Refinitiv Lipper reports $1.96 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds.

The governor has formed an Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy, while committing $100 million for clean-energy initiatives that include vehicle electrification.

The municipal secondary gave way to higher-yields and triple-A benchmarks rose two to five basis points. U.S. Treasuries pared back Tuesday's losses, even on the heels of better economic data.

With the U.S. Treasury sell off, municipal to UST ratios fell below 55% in 10-years.