State of Ohio

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.