Municipals end mostly firmer; just $2.8 billion of new issuance expected ahead of Thanksgiving

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Nov. 21 - New-issue supply will be dramatically lower during the week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, removing some of the pressure yields have faced in the past couple of weeks when the market was flooded with new offerings, market insiders reported.

In addition to the diminished supply, Treasuries rallied following a dive in the stock market Monday, moving municipals along with them.

Long bonds were somewhat softer, but most maturities were firmer, traders said. Twenty-year yields were down by nearly 4 basis points. Fifteen-year yields were seen lower by more than 2 bps. Thirty-year yields were seen up by more 2 bps.

Just $2.8 billion of new offerings are expected to hit the market ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, said Tom Kozlik, municipal credit analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.

Leading the pack is a $295.6 million sale of series 2011 lease revenue bonds from the California Public Works Board. The board plans to offer the bonds (Aa2//AA) through RBC Capital Markets LLC.

Proceeds from that deal will be used to fund various capital projects at the University of California's Berkeley, Los Angeles and Merced campuses and to make a contribution to the master indenture reserve fund.

UConn deal planned

Another major offering scheduled for the holiday-shortened week is a $220 million sale of series 2011 general obligation bonds (Aa2/AA/AA-) from the University of Connecticut. That offering is scheduled to price Tuesday.

The deal includes $200 million of series 2011A G.O. bonds and $20 million of series 2011B refunding bonds.

The 2011A bonds are due 2012 to 2031, and the 2011B bonds are due 2012 and 2014 to 2023.

The senior manager for the sale is Loop Capital Markets LLC.

Proceeds will fund projects under the university's infrastructure program and refund its series 2003A, 2004A and 2005A G.O. bonds.

New York Liberty deal ahead

Looking out on the horizon, the New York Liberty Development Corp. is poised to bring to market $702 million of series 2011 One World Trade Center liberty revenue bonds, said a preliminary official statement.

The bonds will be sold on a negotiated basis with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as the senior managers.

The bonds are due on Dec. 15, 2051.

Proceeds will be used to purchase consolidated bonds issued by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the construction and design of One World Trade Center, a 104-story building in lower Manhattan.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.