Buy side

A pair of turnpike revenue offerings from New Jersey and Pennsylvania will give the primary market a lift this week, helping alleviate supply concerns ahead of spring reinvestment season, municipal experts said.

Tobacco bonds have lured investors with some of the highest returns in the muni market this year, raising concern among strategists that traditional municipal bond investors' are taking on too much risk.

The Bond Buyer's muni bond indexes mostly strengthened in the week ending May 8.

Municipal mutual funds reported inflows increased to $943.23 million in the week ended May 8 from $26.38 million of outflows the week before.

After three weeks of heavy outflows, tax-exempt money market funds gained a modest $1.29 billion in the week ended May 5, as total net assets rose to $258.91 billion, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

McGraw Hill Financial's S&P Capital IQ has partnered with Tradeweb Direct to launch Odd-Lot Valuations, a pricing service that joins a growing number of efforts aimed at improving transparency in odd-lot bond trades.

Muni pros are adding yield and diversification to their portfolios, taking advantage of historically-attractive returns in the high yield sector that continue to be available amid growing concerns over rising interest rates and anemic supply.

Large public funds tracked by the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service outperformed small ones in the first quarter of 2014.

A $450 million Illinois toll road financing, and a $255 million note deal for a New Jersey stadium project will do little to resuscitate the new-issue market this week as volume is expected to fall by more than one third from last week's total.

Barclays Capital sees value in standalone Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle bonds now that yields have risen over concerns about potential shortfalls in U.S. highway funding.

The Bond Buyer's muni bond indexes were mostly stable in the week ending May 1, as Treasuries continued firming.

Municipal bond fund flows turned negative for the week ending April 30, as funds reported $26.38 million of outflows.

Tax-exempt money market fund outflows slowed to $3.48 billion as total net assets dropped to $257.62 billion in the week ended April 28, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Investment advisors gave their take Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference on investments at a time when questions are rising about the status of the economic cycle.

An $834 million Pennsylvania general obligation sale may get plenty of attention this week in a market with little else to focus on, as volume reverts back to 2014's skimpy norm after inching up last week.

Municipal mutual funds reported inflows increased to $244.26 million in the week ended April 23 from $74.03 million of inflows the week before.

Tax-exempt money market funds reported losses of $5.61 billion – the largest decline in assets in a year – as total net assets fell to $261.10 billion in the week ended April 21, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The Bond Buyer's muni bond indexes were mostly stable in the week ending April 10, as Treasuries softened.

New issuance of more than $7 billion is expected to arrive in the primary this week, as Illinois tests the market's appetite for a second time this month with its general obligation credit — this time a $750 million sale that will be joined by large financings from issuers in Texas and New Jersey.

Tax-exempt money market funds reported losses of $3.67 billion in the week ended April 14 as total net assets fell to $266.72 billion, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com. The losses come on the heels of the prior week's inflows of $1.58 billion.