Markets

The value of business inventories in February was up 0.3% from January, as expected.

The composite of the Leading Economic Index was up 0.4% in March following a revised 0.1% rise in February, the Conference Board said Thursday.

Manufacturers report activity has “continued to grow” in April.

The level of initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 192,000 in the April 13 survey week, below the 205,000 level expected.

The value of retail sales posted a large gain in March, rising 1.6% vs the 1.0% gain expected.

The top muni bond counsel firms accounted for $74.79 billion in 1,783 transactions in the first quarter of 2019, up from $61.46 billion in 1,655 deals a year earlier. Although overall business was up, most of the top firms didn't quite achieve higher totals than they had during the same time last year.

PFM, Acacia and Piper move up in FA rankings, as deal volume handled by the top firms rose 18.6% from last year's depressed level to $64.32 billion.

Municipal bond insurers are running close to last year's clip through the first three months of 2019, as the two active insurers wrapped $3.61 billion in 288 transactions. That compares with $3.61 billion 257 deals during the same period last year. The insurance penetration rate dipped to 4.8% from 5.9% at the end of the first quarter of last year.

The top muni underwriters counsel rankings were all shaken up, as business spiked to $48.69 billion from $41.94 billion at this point last year.

A few taxable deals came into a weaker market today, highlighting the significance of what issuers can tap into by issuing taxable munis.