State of California

It was a busy day in the primary, as the markets continue to deal with crosscurrents of COVID-19 and election results.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds rate 50 basis points to a range between 1% and 1.25%. The decision to cut rates was unanimous.

The municipal bond market is in for another action-packed week, with above-average issuance and COVID-19 still spreading rapidly.

Taxable bonds and COVID-19 are two of the main catalysts that helped February municipal bond volume ascend to its highest level since at least 1986.

Municipal market technicals were already driving performance and so the strong quality bid has deepened the rally across the curve as the asset class really didn’t need to grab the U.S. Treasuries coattails all that tightly.

Issuers in the Far West sold $85 billion of municipal bonds in 2019, a 23% increase from 2018.

Municipal bond yields were unchanged at record low levels, according to late reads.

As COVID-19 fears run rampant, investors continued to sell off equities, resulting in muni yields again following Treasury yields down to all-time lows.

Municipal bonds yields continued their descent and once again rewrote the record books, as the flight to safety on fears of COVID-19 that took place Friday picked up right where it left off.

Slightly more than half of likely California voters support Proposition 13, according to a poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.