Municipals mostly flat ahead of holiday; Texas Transportation to lead $12.4 billion calendar

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Nov. 26 – Municipals were mostly unchanged ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, market insiders said, ignoring Treasury gains. Meanwhile, the market awaits about $12.4 billion in new offerings once pricing action gets back under way after the holiday.

Yields on municipals were mostly flat, consistent with Tuesday’s closing levels, with the 10-year bond closing at 2.13% and the 30-year at 3.07%.

Treasuries were pushed Wednesday by a $29 billion auction of seven-year notes at a 1.96% yield. The bid-offered ratio came in at 2.63x the amount offered compared to a recent 2.51x average.

Texas transportation deal set

Even though the week was quiet ahead of Thanksgiving, investors can look forward to a post-holiday indulgence – $12.4 billion in new offerings on the calendar.

November will finish with about $30 billion of new issues, said Alan Schankel, managing director with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.

The first week of December, however, will get the month off to a solid start with $12.4 billion of new deals expected, Schankel said.

That new slate of deals will be led by a $1.4 billion offering from the Texas Transportation Commission.

The commission is slated to price series 2014 general obligation mobility fund and refunding bonds (Aaa/AAA/AAA) through BofA Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo Securities LLC.

The deal includes $1,225,000,000 of series 2014A bonds due 2015 to 2036 and $175 million of series 2014B Sifma index bonds.

Proceeds will be used to construct, reconstruct, improve and expand state highways, as well as to refund outstanding parity debt.

New Jersey G.O.s ahead

Another deal expected when the market cranks back up after the Thanksgiving holiday comes from the Garden State. New Jersey is on tap to price $525 million of series 2014 various purpose G.O. bonds through competitive bid on Dec. 3.

Proceeds from the bonds, which are due 2016 to 2035, will be used to finance projects in the state’s ongoing capital expenditure program, including environmental cleanup projects and open space conservation.

Also coming up on Dec. 3, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is slated to price $140,435,000 of series 2014A Proposition A first-tier sales tax revenue refunding bonds (Aa2/AAA/) through competitive bid.

Proceeds will be used to refund the authority’s series 2005A senior sales tax revenue bonds.

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