Buy side

Municipal bond investors are in a good position to wait out the Federal Reserve, after policy makers left the target interest rate unchanged and signaled increases will be gradual, strategists said.

California's new, higher legal smoking age of 21 heralds more trouble for tobacco securitization debt, said analyst Richard Larkin.

New Jersey bonds could see spread tightening after a state Supreme Court decision upholding the 2011 suspension of cost of living adjustments to retiree pension benefits, but any boost will likely be short-lived, according to Municipal Market Analytics.

Mesirow Financial has appointed Blake Anderson to a newly-created position leading client portfolio strategy in its institutional sales and trading group.

U.S. banks' holdings of municipal bonds increased to $507.5 billion in the first quarter of 2016, a 1.7% gain from the $499 billion of holdings in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, fell four basis points to 3.86% from 3.90% in the previous week.

BlackRock’s municipal group said that although June may present some headwinds, any pullback in the market could be seen as restoring value and presenting a buying opportunity.

Although credit quality has stabilized since the Great Recession, pension liabilities threaten municipalities with reduced revenue supply and growing expenses.

Michael Ruvo, the new CEO of financial technology provider BondWave LLC, wants to create a premiere fixed income intelligence platform with improved transparency and enhanced market liquidity.

In the week ended June 2, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index was unchanged at 3.90% from the previous week.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and California State Controller Betty Yee are urging public pension funds to embrace board-diversity practices inclusive of LGBT interests.

The Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond Fund outperformed its benchmark by 10% over the last five years by keeping duration a bit longer and adding value through security and sector selection.

Tennessee's general obligation bonds got a boost to AAA Thursday by S&P Global Ratings, which cited the state’s sound operations and improving economy.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, rose two basis points to 3.90% from 3.88% in the previous week.

Port St. Lucie, Fla., will only recover 6% from the bond-laden incentive package the city used to lure a digital effects studio to town.

Chicago’s second shot at fixing one of its woefully underfunded pension funds offers investors at least a small sign of progress, several market participants said.

Chicago would raise its contributions to its laborers’ pension fund by at least 30% annually under a new plan to stabilize the fund and steer it away from its path to insolvency.

Former Massachusetts assistant treasurer Colin MacNaught has launched tech company BondLink to help muni issuers manage debt management programs.

In the week ended May 19, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell two basis points to 3.88% from 3.90% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings both downgraded Connecticut's general obligation bonds to AA-minus from AA in advance of the state's $511 million sale.