Primary bond market

Municipal bond industry leaders weighed in on their expectations for 2021 during a panel discussion at The Bond Buyer's National Outlook Conference.

Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, combined with the shortened week and the arrival of the second quarter, took attention away from the muni market.

The first quarter of 2021 concludes with $102.1 billion, slightly higher than the $95.3 billion that the market saw in the COVID-ravaged first quarter of 2020.

Larger fund flows, lower supply and optimism surrounding issuer credit post-stimulus allowed for a March price reversal that avoids posting two consecutive months with losses. The consumer confidence index jumped to its highest reading in a year in March.

Municipals continue to outperform Treasuries amid a light holiday-shortened week led by a California tobacco deal.

A trio of municipal bond analysts say now is the time for investors to take advantage of the strength and resilience of the asset class.

With some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences fund growth with $139 million of revenue bonds.

Both personal income and expenditures dropped in February, while personal consumption expenditures also came in weaker than expected, meaning inflation remains in check for now.

Refinitiv Lipper reported more inflows into municipal bond mutual funds to the tune of $592.4 million. Initial jobless claims fell to the lowest point since the pandemic began, moving Treasuries weaker while equities saw gains.

ICI reported another week of inflows at $2.23 billion. U.S. Treasuries strengthened further as COVID-19 concerns linger with shutdowns in Germany and spreads elsewhere. Equities were mixed.

The primary led the secondary to lower yields as UST 10-year fell to lows last seen a week ago. Regional service sector surveys released Tuesday showed improvement, which feeds into the belief that inflation will rise in the near term.

Monday’s economic data suggested weakness, with existing home sales declining for the first time in four months and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index slipping into negative territory, but economists are not concerned.

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.

The rise of machine learning. Continued growth of electronic trading. Intensifying automation. Stephanie Sparvero, Global Head of BVAL Evaluated Pricing at Bloomberg, talks about these issues and more in how the muni market is charting a changing muni landscape. Lynne Funk hosts. (30 minutes)

The Fed remains dovish, although it raised inflation projections and lowered expected unemployment rates, but most participants still see rates at the zero lower bound in 2023.

Illinois rode the tailwinds of market demand for higher-yielding paper and its rosier fiscal picture, sending its primary market spreads to their lowest since 2014.

A repricing of Illinois GOs saw the bonds bumped by 12 to 20 basis points from Tuesday's preliminary pricing wires and 17 to 25 basis points from Monday's price talk.

BJC Health System is selling $805 million of mostly refunding debt with its ratings and balance sheet intact as its manages COVID-19 pandemic wounds.

A reversal of fund flows and the arrival of the economic aid for states and local governments helped boost the market's morale ahead of $10 billion in new-issues supply this week.

The pair of unregistered brokers will pay over $2 million in civil penalties.