State of Texas

It's been a few weeks since the market has seen "normal" issuance, but investor demand picked up right where it left off before the holidays.

Four large competitive deals stole the show on Tuesday, including New Jersey's first general obligation sale in a little more than three years.

The municipal bond market started off the week adopting a cautious tone, eyeing issuance and world events.

Texas closed out a record year of sales tax collections with a strong kick in December, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

Municipal bond buyers have plenty of cash in hand and will have various options as to where to put that money to work.

Municipals look to be well positioned entering 2020 against a strong backdrop of market technicals and stable credit outlook.

The municipal bond market eclipsed the $400 billion mark for the fourth time since 2010, thanks to taxable trend that led to a vault in fourth quarter volume.

The muni market finished out the last day of 2019 on a quiet note, with no deals priced and yields ending little changed.

While there are no major municipal bond sales slated for this week, next week is a different matter.

State government issuers are expected to sell $4.68 billion of new money bonds in fiscal 2020, a 6.5% increase, according to the Texas Bond Review Board.

Retail investors have felt confident in the muni bond space for most of 2019.

While municipal bond volume looks to end the year on a surprisingly high note, muni bond yields unexpectedly hit record lows twice in 2019.

Munis finished above $400 billion for the fourth time since 2010 and the third time in the past four years.

Although there will be no more new issuance in 2019, municipal bond investors can get plenty of returns as seasonal trends should provide opportunities from now through January.

With issuance for 2019 done, investors and money managers look forward to a new year — there is optimism that drivers of muni performance will carry over.

The House of Representatives' vote to impeach a president for only the third time ever had 'zero' impact on the municipal market, while stocks soared.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York priced its $3.39 billion of bonds, most likely the last billion-plus sale of 2019.

The primary municipal market saw fresh paper greeted by bond-craving investors who are looking to put money to work before a new decade dawns.

As there are just eight full work days remaining in the year, muni market leaders believe that 2020 will look a lot like 2019 — high volume, increasing taxable issuance and strong demand.

Citi sees volume growing in 2020 to $440 billion with $95 billion of taxables on tap for next year.