Primary bond market

Taxable munis hold the distinction as being the largest positive sector year-to-date, up 2.81%. High-yield has been hammered, losing 10%.

A range of technical issues — from month-end accounting and financing to spread widening, price volatility and the coronavirus impact on businesses and the economy — spurred a tone of relative quiet in Thursday's trade.

April finished with $23.7 billion of issuance, a 15% decline from the $27.9 billion in April 2019. Volatility from the pandemic has caused erratic swings in benchmark yields, resulting in the lowest muni volume total in the month since 2011.

William Sims, managing principal, and Jim Bodine, executive vice president, of Herbert J. Sims & Co., offer some perspective and proportion around the impact of COVID-19 on the senior living industry and associated investments.

The primary, meanwhile, digested a massive $1.12 billion bond offering from New York Power Authority. The entire deal was structured to mature later than 2045 and a good portion of it was designated green bonds.

The market isn't facing 50-basis-point swings, but its footing is still off as participants grapple with the long-term effects of the pandemic. New deals are getting pulled and New York Power is about to issue bonds maturing in 2060.

Illinois tentatively plans to sell $1.2 billion of certificates next week and $1 billion of bonds the following week.

The utility envisions a digital power grid and clean energy transmission, with this sale setting the stage.

Issuers bringing taxable deals this week should see robust buying interest as the strong performance of the corporate market has pushed yields down, making double-A taxable municipal bond yields attractive for corporate investors in the 21% tax bracket.

The system's offering statement presents a detailed picture of the pandemic's impact so far.

The municipal bond market will see more supply hit the screens this week as buyers await much needed issuance and sellers hope for improved liquidity.

Rate volatility is still evident on the buy side of the municipal market as bid wanted lists reflect redemptions or portfolio restructuring by investors, analysts said.

The municipal market kept with a cautious tone on Thursday as the new-issue market continues to digest deals.

Bryan Garcia and Eric Shrago of the Connecticut Green Bank, explain how “Green Liberty Bonds” will expand clean energy investment. The small-denomination munis for retail, modeled after the World War II Series E bonds, are independently certified to fight climate change. Chip Barnett hosts.

The state applied the green designation to the $80 million deal, but didn't obtain third party verification.

The municipal market saw a plethora of deals come in while secondary market trading showed some weakness on AAA benchmarks.

Secondary market trading showed yields rising slightly, but the primary market again showed signs of life, as demand for the asset class seems to be gaining ground.

A stratified credit differentiation can be expected to linger for the foreseeable future until revenue streams in sales-tax and other project-backed bonds are more fully restored. Pension obligation bonds are back in California.

Hard on the heels of last week's successful California sale, the municipal bond market will see some much needed supply head its way this week.

While many new-issues are still on the day-to-day calendar for next week, more are being slated to price on specific days, signaling that dealers and issuers are ready to again test the primary.