Finance

Last week, the muni market saw a "slowdown in activity" after the asset class saw its best monthly performance in nearly two years, said Birch Creek strategists.

La Marque's two-notch downgrade from Moody's follows a rating cut last month by S&P; both agencies put the city on review for potential further downgrades.

Chicago has selected its new senior manager and co-manager pools to underwrite future bond deals, five months after it released its request for qualifications.

The Texas Transportation Finance Corp. leads the new-issue calendar with $1.739 billion of subordinate tier toll revenue and refunding bonds, followed by New York City with $1.5 billion of general obligation bonds.

Fitch revised its outlook on the AAA-rated southern California to negative. The city is grappling with child sexual abuse claims from hundreds of people against one former employee.

Raymond James has added four senior public finance professionals — two to its Chicago office, and two to a new office it is opening in Naperville.

"While the shutdown will eventually be resolved, present circumstances may catalyze tactical investment opportunities as a way to capture even more compelling yield and income opportunities," said Jeff Lipton, municipal market intelligence analyst for The Bond Buyer.

The rating agency cited narrowing reserves and the expectation that the city will experience declining revenues next year.

The Baa3 rated government will now have more trouble supporting the struggling Guam Memorial Hospital, Moody's Ratings said.

If the shutdown lingers, disruption to key economic data releases could increase market uncertainty, said Tom Kozlik of HilltopSecurities.

Summit Utilities Oklahoma used reserve funds to help cover an Oct. 1 payment on taxable bonds sold in 2022 through the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority.

October has historically not been "particularly kind to the municipal market, as it tends to be one of the heavier supply months of the year," said Daryl Clements, a portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.

The muni market may be shaken by a government shutdown, driving short-term volatility and wider spreads, said James Pruskowski, a public finance strategist.

Atlanta's airport lost $57 million of funding for the current fiscal year. Other issuers have even more at stake.

Muni yields rose up to eight basis points, depending on the scale, with the largest losses again on the front-end of the curve.

The short-end correction has been "driven by a solid labor market report, which pushed Treasury yields higher as expectations for additional Fed rate cuts tempered," said Alice Cheng, director of municipal credit and investor strategy at Janney.

S&P Global Ratings cut the Toms River Regional School District to A-minus from A, ending a negative CreditWatch but assigning a negative outlook.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid said that the central bank should continue its focus on curbing inflation, as the job market is "largely in balance."

S&P Global Ratings warned that Indiana's property tax reform law, Senate Enrolled Act 1, creates uncertainty for local income tax-backed debt.

Retail offerings from California and Connecticut led the market Wednesday.