Securitization

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.

Exactly one year after record billions were pulled from municipal bond mutual funds and the market was in free fall, municipals followed U.S. Treasuries this week as the markets continued to dismiss the Fed's outlook on inflation and rates.

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)

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.

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 junk-rated school district won an upgrade and saw its secondary bond market spreads narrow as it expects to pocket about $1.8 billion in new aid.

Inflows return, stimulus set, new deals on fire — the municipal market reaped all the benefits. Initial jobless claims dropped more than expected in the week, as reopening continued slowly, but the total remains higher than any week before the COVID crisis hit.

The Investment Company Institute reported outflows from municipal bond mutual funds but inflows into exchange-traded funds. The February consumer price index came in as expected, while the core was below expectations, and analysts expect bigger rises ahead.

Despite the recent outflows and volatility of the Treasury market, municipal bonds have and should continue to outperform as stimulus from Washington provides some respite.

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

Refinitiv Lipper reported $600 million of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds as the market correction caught up. High-yield funds lost a massive $722 million after $330 million a week prior.

A year after COVID disrupted the markets, Sylvia Yeh and Scott Diamond, co-heads of fixed income at Goldman Sachs Asset Management discuss their strategies for 2021 and the important role of retail, consider the new regime in Washington, and contemplate where ESG fits into their portfolio as the muni market incorporates the burgeoning investor interest in it. Lynne Funk hosts (35 minutes)

The Beige Book suggests the economy is recovering, with optimism for 6-12 months ahead, while economists don't envision inflation rising enough for the Fed to take action any time soon.

Institutional pricing of New York City and competitive deals from Baltimore and Cambridge, Mass., should help give a sense of where yields are heading, while Ohio offers up GOs for a market that's been little changed for three days after a large sell-off.

The sell-off in the back half of February brought negative 1.59% returns for the month and a negative 0.96% return for the year so far. Taxables and high-yields fared slightly better.

The market took a much-needed breather Friday and U.S. Treasuries pared Thursday's losses to see the 10-year fall 12 basis points to 1.42% and the 30-year 17 basis points to 2.11%. Municipals were steady at 1.14% in 10 years and 1.82% in 30.

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.