Markets

Moody's Investors Service placed the university under review for downgrade, citing in part debt that would be issued to purchase the University of Phoenix.

This decision will accelerate foreign buyers' reduced presence in the muni market, said Vikram Rai, head of municipal markets strategy at Wells Fargo.

Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows, with LSEG Lipper reporting $142.2 million of outflows for the week ending Wednesday. High-yield funds saw inflows.

Fitch said its upgrade "reflects the removal of the asymmetric additional risk relating to potential general fund exposure to the county's enterprise sewer system … which reflects the system's recent restructuring of its outstanding debt."

David Brownstein, who helped Jefferson County, Alabama, and Detroit return to market after bankruptcy, has opened a new firm that is advising the Oversight Board on its plan of adjustment for PREPA.

The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners unanimously approved three ordinances laying the groundwork for up to $37 million new money bonds and a tender.

Despite losses, munis are still outperforming USTs and corporates on a month-to-date and year-to-date basis, noted Cooper Howard, a fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab.

The consumer price index number further complicates market expectations of Fed rate cuts and muni investors may want "to keep their powder dry" until they have a better idea of the Fed's timing, said CreditSights' Pat Luby.

The muni market will see "continued strength," said Wesly Pate, senior portfolio manager at Income Research + Management, largely due to a a dearth of new-issue supply.

Oklahoma is on a roll, notching its third positive rating outlook since July with the latest move coming from Fitch Ratings.