Markets

"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.

In this panel from The Bond Buyer's recent Southeast Public Finance event, top public finance officials from Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Alabama, and Florida share how they evaluate bankers, bond counsel, and municipal advisors, and what makes a pitch fall flat.

The $247.75 million of unrated tax-exempt bonds will finance public infrastructure and projects for an initial development on state-owned land.

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.

Housing advocates are cheering the Senate's embrace of expanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits which ensures a volume increase and reduces a key bond threshold test.