Markets

The Iowa Fertilizer Co. will refund its Midwestern Disaster Area revenue bonds with a new structure that yields higher Fitch, Moody's and S&P ratings.

Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual funds last week, with Refinitiv Lipper reporting $4.106 billion of outflows, bring the total to $22.3 billion of outflows year-to-date.

A taxable bond issue will raise $3.4 billion for extraordinary costs incurred by natural gas utilities during deadly Winter Storm Uri that hit Texas in 2021.

Like last week, supply for the new-calendar issuance is light at $4.804 billion with $3.182 billion of negotiated deals and $1.622 billion of competitive loans.

The second quarter should bring more opportunity and less volatility following the worst quarter in four decades, analysts said.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook to stable from negative on the state's A-plus rating, two weeks after the state received a positive outlook from S&P.

The state’s personal income tax revenue and sales tax revenue bonds were also lifted from Aa2. Related credits were also upgraded. The rating outlook is stable.

Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual funds as the Investment Company Institute on Wednesday reported $4.786 billion of outflows, up from $4.459 billion of outflows in the previous week.

The the $389.495 million of tax-exempts were sold late last month to help fund construction of the Broward County Convention Center Headquarters Hotel.

High gas prices usually have the biggest effect on leisure travel because drivers take fewer or shorter trips, Fitch Ratings says.