Municipal bond traders were set for the second wave of new issuance to hit the market on Wednesday while they kept watch on upcoming Congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and speeches from several other Fed officials, although none were scheduled to discuss monetary policy.
Secondary Market
Treasury prices were narrowly mixed on Wednesday, with the yield on the two-year Treasury rising to 0.78% from 0.77% on Tuesday, while the 10-year yield declined to 2.21% from 2.22% and the 30-year yield decreased to 2.99% from 3.00%.
Yellen is slated to testify before the U.S. House Financial Service Committee on Wednesday morning. New York Fed President William Dudley will talk on Wednesday afternoon while Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer will speak Wednesday evening. The officials are making their first public comments since the October FOMC meeting.
Prices of high quality municipal bonds finished weaker on Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation was three basis points stronger at 2.09% from 2.06% on Monday, while the yield on the 30-year GO was two basis points stronger at 3.10% from 3.08%, according to the final read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
The 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated on Tuesday at 94.2% versus 94.4% on Monday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 103.4% compared to 104.3%, according to MMD.
Primary Market
Loop Capital Markets is set to price the New York Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority's $156.32 million of general revenue bonds for the MTA bridges and tunnels, Series 2015B and Subseries 2008B-3, after holding a one-day retail order period on Tuesday.
The $65 million of Series 2015B bonds were priced for retail to yield from 0.57% with a 5% coupon in 2017 to 3.18% with a 5% coupon in 2035. A 2040 maturity was priced as 5s to yield 3.36% and a 2045 maturity was priced as 5s to yield 3.43%; a 2016 maturity was offered as a sealed bid.
The $91.32 million of Subseries 2008B-3 bonds were priced for retail as a remarketing as 5s to yield 2.62% in 2027 and 2.73% in 2028 and from 3.08% in 2033 to 3.32% in 2038.
The issue was rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service, AA-minus by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings and AA by Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
JPMorgan is ready to price Anchorage, Alaska's $310.44 million of GO and GO refunding bonds after a one-day retail order period.
The $45.38 million of Series A general purpose GOs were priced for retail to yield from 0.56% with a 3% coupon in 2017 to 3.06% with a 5% coupon in 2035. The $115.95 million of Series B general purpose GO refunding bonds was not offered to retail investors.
The issue was rated triple-A by S&P and AA-plus by Fitch.
Barclays Capital is slated to price the California Health Facilities Financing Authority's $378 million of Series 2015 refunding revenue bonds for the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday afternoon after a morning retail order period.
The issue is rated Aa3 by Moody's and AA-minus by Fitch Ratings.
Since 2005, the HFFA has issued about $15.7 billion of debt, with the most issuance occurring in 2009 and 2011 when it sold $2.24 billion and $2.33 billion, respectively. The HFFA sold the least amount of bonds in 2010 and 2014 when it issued and $713 million and $500 million, respectively.
Siebert Brandford Shank is expected to price the Department of Airports of the city of Los Angeles' $304.15 million of Series 2015D AMT and Series 2015E non-AMT senior revenue bonds. The issue was rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by S&P and Fitch.
RBC Capital Markets is expected to price the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency's $231.15 million of Series 2015-118A AMT and Series 2015-118B non-AMT single-family mortgage revenue bonds. The issue is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P.
On Thursday, Citigroup is set to price the Massachusetts Transportation Fund's $450 million of Series 2015A special obligation revenue bonds under the Rail Enrichment Program after a one-day retail order period on Wednesday. The bonds are rated triple-A by Moody's and S&P.
Also on Thursday, Morgan Stanley will price the state of Hawaii's $247 million of airport system Series 2015A AMT and Series 2015B non-AMT revenue bonds. The bonds are rated A1 by Moody's and A-plus by S&P.
MSRB: Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 36,933 trades on Tuesday on volume of $6.51 billion.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar fell $1.77 billion to $8.24 billion on Wednesday. The total is comprised of $3.31 billion competitive sales and $4.93 billion of negotiated deals.
