Markets

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, dipped to 3.99% from 4.00% last week.

Traders noted some caution in the muni market ahead of Friday’s release of the March unemployment report.

The city's issuer rating from Moody's Investors Service remains mired in speculative-grade territory.

The bankruptcy process could take 18 to 36 months to sort out, one municipal analyst said.

Municipals were trading in sympathy with Treasuries on Thursday morning as the market remained quiet as it prepared for the week’s end.

Initial jobless claims rose by 24,000 to 242,000 in the March 31 week, well above the 225,000 level expected.

The U.S. international trade gap widened to $57.6 billion in February, a wider gap than the $56.7 billion deficit expected and the largest since October 2008.

BlackRock's Peter Hayes says that municipal bond performance in the first quarter was clearly hurt by tax reform.

Morgan Stanley rose to No. 2 and JPMorgan slipped out of the top 5 among municipal underwriters; PFM fell to second among financial advisors.

Anna Van Degna, who was a Stifel managing director, now heads San Francisco's Office of Public Finance.