Markets

The new-issue calendar builds from almost nothing to $2.4 billion in the first week of the New Year, with deals ranging from education to taxables to social bonds on tap for investors.

The deal is rated BBB-plus by Fitch Ratings, Baa1 by Moody’s Investors Service and BBB by S&P Global Ratings.

After one of the worst sell-offs in municipal market history as COVID-19 began its rampage in March, the market rebounded to set the all-time record.

Dominick D'Eramo, head of fixed income at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, talks with Chip Barnett about how the municipal bond market did in 2020 and what may be on tap for munis in the new year. (12 minutes)

Municipal bond funds saw $2.086 billion of inflows in the week ended Dec. 22, the Investment Company Institute reported Wednesday after a $2.517 billion inflow the week prior.

Lincoln Way school district in suburban Chicago moved further back up the investment grade ladder with a Moody's Investors Service upgrade.

While way up annually, pending home sales saw its third consecutive month of decline. Elsewhere, the Chicago PMI bested estimates.

While there are no major sales on the calendar for this week, some larger deals from and Texas, California, New Jersey and Colorado issuers are on tap for the first few weeks of 2021.

The housing market continues to shine, showcased by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index, which climbed 1.4% in October from a month earlier. On an annual basis the national index jumped 8.4% in October, compared with 7.0% in September.

Refinitiv Lipper reported tax-exempt mutual funds saw $1.288 billion of inflows in the week ended Dec. 23, the seventh week in a row investors put cash into the funds.