Bond volume

Peter Delahunt, manager of municipal trading at Raymond James, says the market is directed by retail demand, the Fed, tweets, tariff discussions and compliance. Transparency has improved and volume will remain relatively flat except for an acceleration in current refunding activity. John Hallacy hosts.

Municipal bond issuance for the year so far is within a percentage point of volume in the first half of 2018.

Though monthly issuance improved to $27.46 billion, the most this year, it remained 22% below the May 2018 level.

Municipal bond sales sank 28.2% from April 2018 as issuers awaited clarity on federal infrastructure plans.

After two months of gains from 2018 levels, municipal issuance sank 7% from March last year as the loss of advance refundings continues to take a toll.

Municipal bond issuance jumped 29.2% in February, and may climb further as the initial effects of the 2017 tax act fade.

The region's 2018 new money bond sales were up 2% year-over-year, but refundings fell 57%.

The surge in gas deals couldn’t overcome the region’s sharp decline in refundings, which led to an overall 22.6% volume decline.

Refunding volume in the Midwest was down 57% in 2018, while new money deals rose just 1.8%, leaving the region down more than 28%.

The region's municipal bond industry insiders saw a silver lining in a 21% increase for new money volume.

Issuers in the Northeast sold $95.5 billion of municipal bonds in 2018, off 21.3% from 2017 with an even more pronounced fourth-quarter drop.

Municipal bond issuance was not much changed from the start of 2018, marking the second year in a row volume got off to a slow start.

Municipal bond issuance totaled $320.25 billion in 2018, as New York issuers led the charge.

Municipal issuance fell by 24% to $338 billion for 2018 as changes in U.S. tax law crushed the market.

While stocks are suffering still and there is a chance of a government shutdown, municipals strengthen yet again to close out the second to last week of the year.

With stocks and equities continuing their sell-off, munis continue to flex their muscles — even with a budget showdown in Washington taking place.

Hiring, firings, corruption, the new tax law and a volatile political climate shaped The Bond Buyer's list of most-read articles of 2018.

Municipal bond volume fell by almost half in November, underscoring the impact of the tax law.

The $33.4 billion of issuance — the second-biggest monthly total of the year — did little to raise hopes for a fourth-quarter resurgence.

The third quarter ended with a whimper, leaving year-to-date issuance 15% behind last year's pace.