State of Ohio

Although November posted the lowest monthly volume total this year, issuance has already exceeded 2019's total and is on track to set a new yearly record in 2020.

Long-term municipal bond volume is on pace to set a new record of yearly issuance, thanks in part to issuers rushing to market before the election and a continued taxable boom.

Municipal yields fell as much as three basis points on the long end of the AAA curves.

The municipal market saw a $40 billion-plus month for the second time this year, as issuers flooded the market with bond sales during the month of June.

The $779 million refunding will capture present value savings while pushing off some debt repayments for budget relief that Fitch called "reasonable."

Bond volume was 4.2% lower than it was a year ago but increased from March and April’s low totals.

The two state administrations laid out initial estimates of revenue losses due to the pandemic as the federal government debates additional relief.

April finished with $23.7 billion of issuance, a 15% decline from the $27.9 billion in April 2019. Volatility from the pandemic has caused erratic swings in benchmark yields, resulting in the lowest muni volume total in the month since 2011.

Municipal bond issuance was $67.88 billion after the first two months of 2020 and was on pace to easily eclipse the $400 billion mark — then COVID-19 completely turned the market upside down.

The state treasurer’s office began purchasing eligible VRDOs from participating Ohio health care systems and other critically important institutions.

Michigan voters head to the polls on March 10 to decide on more than $600 million of school boding proposals.

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

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.

The Cleveland office, which will be led by Kevin Barry, is part of Hilltop Securities' ongoing expansion in the Midwest region.

New deals started to flow in and take advantage of historic lows of muni yields and rates.

Issuance is set to seesaw, as new-issue volume was the heaviest of the year last week, at almost 40% larger than 2019 weekly average. And this is expected to be one of the lowest-volume weeks of the year to date.

The city is pricing the bonds the week of Feb. 10 for an anticipated $7 million in savings, according to city debt manager Betsy Hruby.

The changes are a credit positive for the state of Ohio and the local governments that participate in OPERS, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Despite tax-exempts being expensive, strong technicals are likely to extend into February.