Munis Unchanged, With All Eyes on New Issues

Tax-exempt yields were unchanged to slightly firmer yesterday, as participants mostly focused their attention on the new-issue market."I'm not seeing too much going on in the secondary," a trader in New York said. "I think a lot of people are just sort of monitoring the new issues and putting their attention there, but the secondary is fairly quiet. I think we're probably a little bit better, maybe a basis point or two, but there isn't a ton of movement. You could call it unchanged with a firmer tone and not really be wrong."

In the new-issue market yesterday, JPMorgan and Ramirez & Co. priced for retail investors $805.6 million of state personal income tax revenue bonds for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York in three series.

Bonds from the $584.8 million Series A mature from 2010 through 2029, with term bonds in 2034 and 2039. Yields range from 1.34% with a 5% coupon in 2011 to 5.10% with a 5% coupon in 2034. Bonds maturing in 2010, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026, 2028, 2029, and 2039 were not offered during the retail order period. The bonds are callable at par in 2019.

Bonds from the $210.7 million Series B mature from 2010 through 2031, with yields ranging from 1.34% with a 3% coupon in 2011 to 4.96% with a 4.75% coupon in 2031. Bonds maturing in 2010 were not offered during the retail order period. The bonds are callable at par in 2019. Bonds from the $10.1 million taxable Series C mature in 2010, but were not offered during the retail order period. The bonds are not callable. The credit is rated AAA by Standard & Poor's and AA-minus by Fitch Ratings.

In the competitive market, New Mexico sold $218.5 million of severance tax bonds to JPMorgan with a true interest cost of 2.74%. The bonds mature from 2010 through 2019, with coupons ranging from 2% in 2010 to 5% in 2019. Yield information was not available by press time. The credit is rated A2 by Moody's Investors Service and AA by Standard & Poor's.

Morgan Stanley priced $191.6 million of taxable direct-payment Build America Bonds for the Indiana Finance Authority. The bonds mature in 2039, and are priced at par to yield 6.60%, or 4.29% after the 35% federal subsidy. The bonds were priced to yield 220 basis points over the comparable U.S. Treasury yield. They are not callable, but contain a make-whole call at Treasuries plus 40 basis points. The credit is rated Aa3 by Moody's, AA-plus by Standard & Poor's, and AA by Fitch.

The IFA also sold a $17.7 million tax-exempt component. Morgan Stanley priced the debt, which matures in 2012, 2018, from 2022 through 2026, and in 2029. Yields range from 2.17% with a 3% coupon in 2012 to 5.12% with a 5% coupon in 2029. The bonds are callable at par in 2019.

Morgan Stanley also priced $144.9 million of revenue refunding bonds for the Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority in two series. Bonds from the $69.2 million Series A mature from 2020 through 2028, with yields ranging from 5.00% with a 4.875% coupon in 2020 to 5.57% with a 5.375% coupon in 2028. Bonds from the $75.7 million Series B mature from 2020 through 2026, with a term bond in 2029. Yields range from 5.00% with a 5.5% coupon in 2020 to 5.62% with a 5.375% coupon in 2029. The bonds, which are callable at par in 2019, are rated A1 by Moody's, AA-minus by Standard & Poor's, and A by Fitch.

Barclays Capital priced $124.1 million of tax and revenue anticipation notes for San Diego in three series. Trans from the $18.6 million Series A mature in 2009, yielding 0.51% with a 2% coupon. Notes from the $55.8 million Series B mature in 2010, yielding 0.52% with a 2% coupon. Trans from the $49.6 million Series C mature in 2010, yielding 0.54% with a 2% coupon. The credit is rated MIG-1 by Moody's, SP-1-plus by Standard & Poor's, and The credit is rated MIG-1 by Moody's, SP-1-plus by Standard & Poor's and F1-plus by Fitch.

Barclays also priced $100.7 million of bonds for Arizona's Regional Public Transportation Authority in two series, including $26.4 million of taxable BABs. Bonds from the tax-exempt $74.4 million Series A mature from 2011 through 2021, with a term bond in 2023. Yields range from 1.39% with a 4% coupon in 2011 to 4.40% with a 5% coupon in 2023. The bonds are callable at par in 2019.

Bonds from the $26.4 million taxable Series B of BABs matures in 2022 and 2025, yielding 6.31% and 6.46%, respectively, both priced at par, or 4.10% and 4.20% after the 35% federal subsidy. The bonds were priced to yield 265 and 280 basis points over the comparable Treasury yield, respectively. The bonds are also callable at par in 2019. The credit is rated AA-plus by Standard & Poor's and AA by Fitch.

Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. priced $83.2 million of port facilities revenue bonds for Broward County, Fla. The bonds, which are not subject to the alternative minimum tax, mature from 2010 through 2026, with a term bond in 2029. Yields range from 1.92% with a 3% coupon in 2010 to 5.82% with a 5.5% coupon in 2029. The bonds, which are callable at par in 2019, are rated A2 by Moody's, A-minus by Standard & Poor's, and A by Fitch.

The Treasury market showed gains yesterday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which opened at 3.68%, finished at 3.64%. The yield on the two-year note was quoted near the end of the session at 1.10% after opening at 1.13%. The yield on the 30-year bond, which opened at 4.44%, finished at 4.37%.

The Treasury Department yesterday auctioned $40 billion of two-year notes with a 1 1/8% coupon at a 1.15% yield, a price of 99.95. The bid-to-cover ratio was 3.19. Federal Reserve banks also bought $1.2 billion for their own account in exchange for maturing securities.

As of Monday's close, the triple-A muni scale in 10 years was at 88.9% of comparable Treasuries, according to Municipal Market Data. Additionally, 30-year munis were 105.6% of comparable Treasuries. Also at the close, 30-year tax-exempt triple-A GOs were at 110.1% of the comparable London Interbank Offered Rate.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER