Finance

"In theory at least, municipal yields should be able to stabilize here; levels remain attractive for pure income buyers while more sustainable constructive fund inflows are just enough to speak for rising issuance in the absence of meaningful reinvestment," said Matt Fabian, president of Municipal Market Analytics.

"If I wanted to target municipal finance, this would be a really good place for me to start," said Omid Rahmani, public finance cybersecurity lead at Fitch Ratings.

The financing challenges facing both Brightline projects have translated into falling bond prices.

Investors sued after the fund's sudden June selloff.

As the technical picture tends to turn "more favorable" during November and December, Birch Creek strategists believe "the wider new issue concessions brought about via the heavy new issue calendar will likely be rewarded."

A six-notch downgrade gives the financially troubled city a non-investment grade rating of BB-plus with a negative outlook.

The average weekly issuance is at least $10 billion, said John Flahive, head of investment solutions and co-head of municipal bonds at Insight Investment.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr called for a cautious approach, emphasizing the possibility that tariffs will create persistent inflation. 

The ratings agency cited low days cash on hand and operating losses at the system, which operates one of the leading academic medical centers in Kentucky.

Municipals are impacted by fluctuating supply and demand influences more than most other markets, said Jeff Timlin, a partner at Sage Advisory.

Carving up risk allows buyers who normally shy away from junk bonds to buy the pooled securities.

Illinois school districts face worsening credit pressure due rising personnel and special education costs and slower home price growth, S&P Global Ratings said.

The large issuance of munis this year, up 12.9% year-to-date, "disadvantaged" the asset class compared to other U.S. fixed income assets for a majority of 2025, said Pat Haskell, head of the municipal bond group at BlackRock.

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.