Securitization

Municipals were mostly unchanged with a firm tone on Tuesday, according to market participants, ahead of the week's large new-issue calendar that's heavy on taxables.

Munis too a breather Friday after a week where yields rose by as much as 10 basis points on long-dated maturities.

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority said it might be refinancing its bond debt with a new bond issue by the end of the year.

Another week of inflows as reported by ICI and the municipal market continues to push on. There is money to put to work, sources say, depending on who is willing.

Municipals weakened on Tuesday, with yields off by as much as three basis points.

After COVID-19 left NYC with a ratings downgrade, the city offered retail investors first crack at its $1 billion GO deal. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will be the first issuer to publicly list on an international exchange in an attempt to lure foreign investors.

There are plenty of taxable deals on the upcoming week’s new-issue calendar while several large deals from issuers in New York will be in the spotlight after Moody's downgrades.

Moody's cut NYC's $39 billion of outstanding GOs to Aa2 citing the effects of COVID-19 and also lowered the debt rating of New York State.

Kim Olsan, senior vice president at FHN Financial talks with The Bond Buyer's Lynne Funk about trading the municipal market in the COVID era. Olsan trades the short- and intermediate but she has some thoughts about high-yield and taxables as well. (36 minutes)

The Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority’s deal came in three times oversubscribed and was an important step in the Commonwealth’s return to the capital markets.

Atlanta airport bonds and a Puerto Rico housing issuer were some new offerings of note on Tuesday.

One muni bond sector that had been a go-to for heavier allocations was utilities, according to Kim Olsan.

The Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority will be in the market with almost $250 million of public housing project refunding bonds.

Without more fiscal support, the outlook becomes murkier with the possibility of economic data disappointment and volatility in rates, and historically muni demand dampeners, Morgan Stanley said.

Pledging the payroll mobility tax would get the authority a lower Municipal Liquidity Facility interest rate, board member Lawrence Schwartz said.

Accurate obligor identification can allow any matrix-based bond evaluation system to improve pricing accuracy and reduce manual intervention by pricing analysts, the firm said.

ICI reports another $2 billion inflow week while new issues fare well. High-grades around the 2026 maturity were trading in large blocks showing stability.

Diverse issuers from NYC to Texas to Chicago to Michigan to PA Turnpikes priced billions into the primary while the secondary again took a back seat.

Rates remain stagnant even as UST rallied Monday. Large deals from NYC and Texas issuers are on deck for Tuesday.

On Friday, municipals finished little changed, with yields remaining steady along most of the AAA GO scales.