Primary bond market

Nassau County is set to issue $269.54 million of general obligation bonds in two separate sales in the upcoming week.

Proceeds will be used to refund some bonds that had been issued to finance or refinance eligible clean water and drinking water projects in the state.

Even though yields have moved to higher ground, some participants say that even cheaper levels are needed to bring about more retail conviction. Muni-to-UST ratios are still rich.

Illinois' $2.5 billion transaction took center stage Wednesday as the state's first GOs to carry an A-level rating since 2016 still offers a healthy yield kick over the A and BBB benchmarks.

The Investment Company Institute reported investors added $229 million to mutual funds in the week ending April 12, after $83 million of outflows the previous week.

Municipal outperformance to UST ended Tuesday as triple-A yields rose 12 to 20 basis points as several new issues began pricing.

Illinois' $2.45 billion GO sale should attract a wider investor audience with the higher ratings as the state seeks to raise new money for capital projects, fund ongoing pension buyout programs, and refund some debt for present value savings.

Neal Pandozzi, a partner at the law firm of Bowditch & Dewey, talks with Chip Barnett about what environmental social and governance really means for public finance, separating politics from policy, polemics from principles. (34 minutes)

Muni yields were cut four to eight basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose seven to nine basis points. Muni outperformance and rich ratios continue.

For long-term muni bonds, BofA strategists noted that macro market and supply/demand conditions "are dominating the picture, pushing the high-grade muni market to a relatively rich valuation versus Treasuries."