Primary bond market

The municipal market strengthened further on Thursday, with light action in the secondary.

Studies on the returns for active vs. passive securities do not definitively declare a winner. However, J.R. Rieger of the Rieger Report explains that a higher proportion of municipal active managers best their benchmarks. John Hallacy is host.

Municipal bonds outperformed other asset classes in 2018 and it looks like the trend will continue into the new year, a trader said.

Municipal bond activity is light as the market is mostly in vacation mode with no major bond sales scheduled until 2019. Nervous investors continued to flock to the safety of bonds amid political developments in Washington and worries of decelerating global growth.

Muni regulators are expected to slow the pace of new rulemaking and focus on enforcement in 2019, with an emphasis on continuing disclosure.

While stocks are suffering still and there is a chance of a government shutdown, municipals strengthen yet again to close out the second to last week of the year.

With stocks and equities continuing their sell-off, munis continue to flex their muscles — even with a budget showdown in Washington taking place.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was unchanged from 4.13% the week before.

The municipal market held firm on Thursday, as new issuance for the year ground to a near halt amid demand for safe investments.

Fresh off another 25 basis point increase in the fed funds rate, the muni market firmed again, with new issuance pretty much curtailed until the New Year.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut its projection for next year to two rate increases from three.

A lone large deal came into an even stronger municipal bond market, as all eyes are on the Federal Open Market Committee.

The commonwealth intends to sell $915 million of tax-exempt new money and refunding bonds and $50 million of taxable bonds.

A few deals trickled into a stronger market, ahead of Wednesday’s interest rate announcement.

The municipal market appears ready to close the year in a positive manner.

Market participants will focus on reading the tea leaves of the Fed statement Wednesday.

The municipal bond market will see a week of meager issuance, as all eyes are on the Federal Open Market Committee and its upcoming meeting.

The municipal bond market winds down the year by seeing only $1 billion of new issues slated to price this week. It’s a far cry from last December, which saw a mad rush to market ahead of the new tax laws.

The holiday season kicks off for the municipal bond market as new issue supply slows to a crawl while the year winds down.

As the end of the year approaches, new issue supply slows down.