Markets

Top-rated municipal bonds were stronger at mid-session, according to traders, who were set to see a heftier new issue slate on tap.

Municipal bond traders are set to see a heftier new issue slate on tap for the week ahead. The calendar is composed of mostly negotiated deals with no competitive sales over $100 million slated for the week.

NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. -- During a specially called meeting on Wednesday, Newberry County Council approved a resolution and had first reading of an ordinance that will allow Newberry County Memorial Hospital to refinance some of its existing debt.

Construction continues on new nuclear power plants in Georgia and South Carolina after the Westinghouse bankruptcy, but the Chapter 11 filing raises concerns for investors in the units, including public power utilities who issued billions in municipal debt.

In the week ended March 30, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell five basis points to 4.22% from 4.27% the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

Now that health care is taking a back seat to tax reform in the Trump administration, municipal portfolio managers are maintaining their investment strategies while bracing for changes on overall market demand and other technicals.

Westinghouse Electric filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, raising more questions about the prospects of two under construction nuclear units in the southeast that were partly financed with municipal bonds.

Moody's Investors Service is asking market participants to comment on a proposal to publish certain internal issuer ratings.

Chicago expects the veto-proof passage in early April of an identical bill to the one vetoed Friday that saves its municipal and laborers' pension funds from insolvency, the city's finance chief told investors Monday.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, fell seven basis points to 4.27% in the latest week from 4.34% in the previous week.