Mortgages

With all eyes on Friday’s employment report, since several additional strong months of gains are needed for the Federal Reserve to be comfortable announcing a tapering of its asset purchases, Wednesday’s news could signal trouble.

With municipal yields at exceedingly low absolute levels, the spread tightening between credits also continues.

Negotiated deals were repriced to lower yields while competitive deals saw levels coming in through triple-A benchmarks. High-grade benchmarks were little changed.

Florida’s unemployment rate rose 0.1% to 5.0% in June while gaining more than 69,300 jobs, as active job seekers look to rejoin the workforce.

The city, which Moody's downgraded last week, is appealing a Nassau County judge's ruling that has it on the hook for $131 million over a dispute with a developer.

With better-than-expected payrolls, economists still caution full recovery is a ways away. Muni participants are closely following how the Fed's action — or inaction — will affect the municipal market going forward.

Economists are bracing for another volatile monthly jobs report and some forecasters are tweaking their models ahead of Friday's data.

It could take the nation, heavily influenced by New York and California, 18 months to return to full employment, Fitch Ratings said.

Strong technicals have been the theme, and with federal aid and better-than-expected tax receipts coming in, issuers are not tapping the market as much as investors would hope.

A disappointing jobs report gives credence to the Federal Reserve’s concern about slack in the labor market.

Refinitiv Lipper reported another week of inflows at $1.64 billion, with $630 million headed into to high-yield. Benchmark yields rose as much as four basis points following weaker U.S. Treasuries, resistance to ultra-low yields.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remains below the national unemployment rate of 6.0%.

The three-pronged Local Infrastructure Financing Tools Act was introduced Friday by Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala.

He starts next month a the new president and CEO of the Utah Housing Corp.

Yields jumped as much as 10 basis points as new deals saw some concessions as munis played catch up to the run-up in U.S. Treasury rates after the 10-year hit 1.75% mid-session. Refinitiv Lipper reports nearly $1.3 billion of inflows.

With the reset in yields in the rear view, valuations — especially relative to Treasury — will likely support continued robust demand.

Municipal bond mutual funds took notice of rate movements with Refinitiv Lipper reporting $37 million of inflows after 15 weeks of multi-billion inflows, the lowest since Dec. 2. High-yield funds took a big hit with $330 million of outflows.

Like so many other businesses, Credit Karma was not spared by the pandemic and its rippling effects on the economy. Their business was prone to the same macro conditions, particularly the tightening of lending standards and credit limits. Join Paul Centopani, National Mortgage News' reporter and Andy Taylor, Credit Karma's General Manager of Home & Mortgage as they discuss how FinTechs can pivot to adapt to the new normal.

Transportation officials weigh the potential and pitfalls of this public-private development mode amid a financial squeeze during the coronavirus.

The January employment report headline number disappointed while stimulus news lifted equities and U.S. Treasuries rose on both counts. Municipals ignored those moves ahead of another week of less-than-ample supply.