Buy side

Municipal volume is expected to spike to $7.8 billion for the week of Aug. 3, with an almost billion dollar deal coming from the Pacific Northwest and five separate competitive issues from Minnesota totaling more than $1 billion.

Municipal bond funds suffered a reverse and saw outflows in the latest week, according to the latest Lipper data. Funds which report weekly saw $73.372 million of outflows in the week ended July 29, after seeing inflows of $125.410 million in the previous week. The prior week’s inflows were the first time in 12 weeks the funds had seen a cash infusion.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, decreased four basis points to 4.40% for the week ended July 30 from 4.44% in the previous week.

S&P Dow Jones Indices on Wednesday launched two new indexes that will break out and track tax-exempt and taxable revenue bonds in existing S&P DJI indexes.

As fund flows turned positive for the first time in 12 weeks, analysts said the impact of Puerto Rico and Chicago on investor behavior may have been overstated, and that fund flows reflect only a corner of the municipal bond market.

Municipal volume is forecast to slip from what may turn out to be the peak of weekly issuance for the rest of the year.

For the week ended July 23, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, decreased four basis points to 4.44%, from 4.48% the previous week.

For the first time in 11 weeks, municipal bond funds reported cash inflows.

Municipal bond funds have reported outflows for 11 straight weeks, as investor confidence gave way to concerns over the credit of such issuers such as Puerto Rico and Chicago and the probability of rising interest rates.

An estimated $9.16 billion in primary issuance is expected for the week of July 20, headlined by a $1.2 billion sales tax revenue offering from the New York State Dormitory Authority.

For the 11th straight week, municipal bond funds reported cash outflows. The weekly reporting funds saw $29.255 million of outflows in the week ended July 15, after experiencing outflows of $305.707 million in the previous week, according to the latest Lipper data.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices increased three basis points to 4.48% for the week ended July 16 from 4.45% in the previous week.

Ohio-based boutique investment firm Lancaster Pollard, which specializes in health care and housing, has a new leadership team.

Cuts in U.S. Army ranks could pose a long-term risk to military housing bonds, though the most recent round should not affect ratings in the short-term, according to Fitch Ratings.

Jefferson County, Ala.'s planned return to the municipal market two years after exiting bankruptcy may prove challenging, especially if the bonds arrive without external support, municipal analysts and investors said this week.

A division of Arbor Research & Trading, LLC, is signing up investors and lining up potential issuers for an attempt to “revolutionize and rejuvenate” the variable rate demand obligation market.

Puerto Rico’s Monday meeting with its bondholders puts the commonwealth and its creditors on an unpredictable path of negotiation and litigation, if history is a guide.

Municipal volume is projected to jump back over $8 billion in the coming week, led by billion-dollar deals from Chicago, Indiana and California.

For the 10th week in a row, municipal bond funds reported cash outflows. The weekly reporting funds saw $305.707 million of outflows in the week ended July 8, after experiencing outflows of $1.199 billion in the previous week, according to the latest Lipper data.

For the week ended July 9, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, decreased three basis points to 4.45%, from 4.48% the previous week.