Markets

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.

It's important and constructive to talk about these kinds of alternatives to advance refundings, market participants said.

Buyers of municipal bonds had a variety of new issues to choose from on Wednesday as deals from New Jersey, New York, California and Maryland all came to market.

About 4,819,700 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in March, an increase of 102,100 from February, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

The value of new factory orders in February saw a 1.2% increase, a softer rise than the 1.7% increase expected.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a slower pace in March, while prices again grew.