New issue calendar empties, but week ahead includes a few big deals; Dasny sells Yeshiva bonds

By Aaron Hochman-Zimmerman and Sheri Kasprzak

New York, July 17 - Despite a calendar loaded down with new offerings in recent days, the week ahead looks fairly quiet for the primary market, market insiders reported.

The busy week ended with a bitter-sweet tone, a syndicate official said.

A strong bout of issuance seemed to give way to an empty summer calendar, she said. A sellsider reached Friday afternoon agreed.

"It's looking more and more like summer," he noted, referring to the low new-issue volume.

"But we had a stretch, even into summer, that was busier than usual."

Even a bond from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development was believed to be pulled, the trader said.

The department could not be reached for comment.

However, during the past week, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority priced $270.083 million in series 2009 Triangle Expressway System senior-lien revenue bonds, which were "well received by retail," said the trader.

Since the deal priced Wednesday, "it's trading up," but "not hugely," she said.

The term bond due 2039 was seen trading at a 5.857% yield on Friday, up from pricing at a 5.75% yield.

Trading saw some "hesitancy, here at the end of the week," she said, but the hope was for the primary market.

"I would love to see some more issuance," she said. "We've got some hunger."

In the capital region, Maryland and Virginia have been "very thinly issued in the last few months."

NYC TFA to price

The week's upcoming action includes two fairly large offerings. The activity is led by a $900 million sale of series 2010A future tax secured bonds from the New York City Transitional Finance Authority, said a preliminary official statement. Pricing is expected for Thursday.

The sale includes $800 million in series 2010A-1 tax-exempt subordinate bonds and $100 million in series 2010A-2 taxable subordinate bonds.

The 2010A-1 bonds will be sold through senior manager J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. The co-managers are Barclays Capital Inc.; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; Jefferies & Co.; Loop Capital Markets LLC; M.R. Beal & Co.; Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.; Ramirez & Co. Inc.; Roosevelt & Cross Inc.; Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. LLC; Wachovia Bank NA; Cabrera Capital Markets Inc.; Jackson Securities Inc.; Raymond James & Associates Inc.; RBC Capital Markets Corp.; Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.; and TD Securities Inc.

The 2010A-2 bonds will be sold competitively.

The bonds are due 2011 to 2039.

Proceeds will be used to fund capital expenditures.

Pennsylvania Turnpike deal

Another big deal from the week comes from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

On Tuesday, the commission is expected to sell $965.7 million in series 2009B-C subordinate revenue bonds through lead manager Citigroup.

The proceeds from the sale will be used to fund transportation grants to mass transit agencies and to fund various turnpike projects.

Dasny prices $140.8 million

Looking to primary action for late in the week, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York priced $140.8 million series 2009 revenue bonds (Aa3/AA/) for New York City's Yeshiva University Wednesday, according to authority spokesman Marc Violette.

The bonds were priced as one series with two maturities.

The series maturing on Sept. 1, 2016 was priced at 102.66 and carries a coupon of 3.5% yield of 3.08%.

The series maturing on Sept. 1, 2038 was priced at 97.022 and carries a coupon of 5% to yield of 5.18%.

JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley & Co. were co-lead underwriters for the negotiated deal.

Proceeds will be used to refund the university's series 1998 bonds.

Secondary ends weaker

Moving to the secondary market, insiders said there was a little weakness to close out the week.

"We're off a couple of basis points, pretty much across the [yield] curve," said one trader reached in the afternoon.

"Drops in Treasuries finally caught up with us. We had some definite strength early in the week, but as Treasuries have continued to decline, it looks like we're moving in line with them [Treasuries]."

In light trading action Friday, the Abag Finance Authority for Nonprofit Corporations watched its bonds for Sharp Health Care moving. The 6.375% 2034s were seen trading near par.

Elsewhere, the University of Pennsylvania Health System's series 2009A revenue bonds were seen trading. The 4.25% 2020 bonds were seen at 4.324%. The 4% 2017s were seen at par.

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