Muni Minute

The Federal Open Market Committee meets this week, and while a rate hike is widely expected, and priced in, the municipal market will look to the Summary of Economic Projections for the future path of rates.

The New York City Transitional Finance Authority heads to market this week with over $1 billion of building aid revenue bonds that will be used to fund education capital projects and refund outstanding bonds.

Municipal investors have been supply starved but will get just what the doctor ordered; a nice big dose of supply. The mini surge will feature two billion dollar deals – one of the high grade variety and the other more of a high yield deal. With volatility in the atmosphere and big deals few and far between, investors should jump to grab the paper since who knows when the next big deal is coming.

The municipal bond market will see $4.8 billion of bonds fly in this week topped by deals from Baltimore County, Alabama Black Belt Gas and the New York State Thruway along with two airports offerings from Houston and Los Angeles.A smorgasbord of bonds is heading our way this week. The new-issue deal calendar stands at $4.8 billion.Baltimore County, Maryland, headlines the slate with four competitive sales of notes and bonds totaling $837 million.Alabama's Black Belt Energy Gas District will sell a $650 million offering.The New York State Thruway Authority will also make a splash with a $600 million deal.And two airport deals -- a $435 million sale from Houston, and a $376 million offering from Los Angeles -- are also making waves.

A parched municipal bond market will get what buyers want: a hefty blast of new supply this week. And it’s coming from two big, market-friendly names – New York City and Los Angeles Schools.

The municipal bond market will be combing through President Trump’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure and budget proposal to see what’s in store for the public finance sector.

Action in the primary muni market has been slow and low in 2018 and yields have spiked recently, with investors increasingly moving to the sidelines to wait for calmer waters. However, some view this as a buying opportunity and are urging others to jump in with them.

Will President Trump trumpet infrastructure in his State of the Union address? Will there be specifics on a plan? Will the Federal Open Market Committee recommend a rate hike? The market will be watching.

State officials cited the need to package its $800 special tax obligation bond sale separately from their general obligation credit.

Chicago’s Sales Tax Securitization Corp. returns to the municipal bond market this week, offering high-yielding, high-rated paper to buyers hungry for supply.

This week's negotiated calendar is headlined by taxable deals from Stanford Health Care, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority and the Illinois Finance Authority while Massachusetts is set to sell two big tax-free competitive offerings

The primary market is set for yet another week of hyperactivity as issuers make one final push to get advance refundings done before they disappear.

With another $20-plus billion on the docket, it's expected to be another frenzy-filled week in the municipal primary market. Issuers continue to sprint to market ahead of the looming tax bill that will alter the market’s landscape. Investor demand won’t be short either, as both traditional and crossover buyers will be fighting for allocations.

Municipal market participants are preparing and bracing for a market without advance refundings and perhaps private activity bonds as major tax changes draw closer. Municipal issuers are coming together and giving the market one last gasp of these types of bonds before they are no longer allowed to do so and in the process, have created what could potentially be a historic $17.4 billion of issuance.

The holiday shopping season begins in earnest this week as municipal bond issuers offer buyers a slew of new tax-exempt deals as they rush to beat possible changes to the tax code for 2018.

With the future of advance refundings and private activity bonds up in the air, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has decided to take action and advance refund debt while they still can. Given the uncertainty, the MTA’s move could be repeated by many other issuers in position to do so, elevating issuance for the rest of the year.

Tax reform legislation will be front and center this week, snatching the market’s attention as Congress moves ahead with measures that will change the bond marketplace in the near- and long-term. Both the House and Senate are taking up muni proposals that will directly impact issuers, underwriters and bond buyers.

Nearly $23 billion worth of bonds are on ballots in Tuesday’s election, which could fuel 2018 issuance.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets in Washington this week amid uncertainty over who will lead the Central Bank. What do higher interest rates and a possible new Fed head this mean for the municipal bond market going forward?

In what’s easily the largest deal of the year, Illinois is set to come to market with $4.5 billion of general obligation bonds that will help pay down a bill backlog that’s around $15 billion. The lowest-rated U.S. state has momentum going its way after last week’s successful $1.5 billion competitive GO sales -- and Illinois is hoping that success spills over into this week’s negotiated offering.