Our guest this week is Peter Hayes. Peter is a managing director at BlackRock where he heads the firm's municipal income group and sits on its global fixed-income Executive Committee. In his role, Peter oversees all aspects of municipal fund management, including portfolio management, research, strategy, and trading. Among his responsibilities, Peter is one of the managers of the BlackRock Strategic Opportunities Fund. In addition to these duties, Peter is also a member of BlackRock's Global Operating Committee. Before joining BlackRock in 2006, Peter was a portfolio manager at Merrill Lynch Investment Management, where he led the short-term tax-exempt trading desk and managed short-term municipal bond strategies. Peter earned a bachelor's in economics from the College of the Holy Cross.BackgroundPeter Hayes BioThe Big Picture“Local Finances Are Troubled, but Fund Investors May Still Profit,” by Carla Fried, nytimes.com, July 10, 2020.“Muni Investors Scale Back,” by Peter Hayes, blackrock.com, Oct. 7, 2020.“How Much Is COVID-19 Hurting State and Local Revenues?” by Louise Sheiner and Sophia Campbell, brookings.edu, Sept. 24, 2020.“Record Increases of new Covid-19 Cases in 3 U.S. States With the Most Population,” by Jay Croft, Christina Maxouris, and Douglas Wood, cnn.com, June 24, 2020.Stimulus“Second Stimulus Checks (10/1/20): What Will the Next Stimulus Package Look Like?” by Claudia Dimuro, pennlive.com, Oct. 2, 2020.“CARES Act Includes Essential Measures to Respond to Public Health, Economic Crises, But More Will Be Needed,” by Sharon Parrott and others, cbpp.org, March 27, 2020.Municipal Liquidity Facility definition“The Fed Says It Is Expanding its Municipal Bond Buying Program,” by Jeff Cox, cnbc.com, April 27, 2020. “U.S. Municipal Market Activity Witnessing Positive Momentum Post Fed’s Intervention,” by Nikhil Francis and Saswata Mohanty, acuitykp.com, Sept. 18, 2020.“Lawmakers Tangle Over Fed’s Muni-Market Rescue,” by Heather Gillers, morningstar.com, Sept. 17, 2020.“Riskier Fixed-Income Sectors Bounce Back in the Second Quarter,” by Gabriel Denis, Morningstar.com, July 6, 2020.Credit“Municipal Bond Perspective: Where We Go From Here,” beyondbullsandbears.com, April 24, 2020.“How Is the Coronavirus Crisis Affecting the Municipal Bond Market?” by Daniel Bergstresser, econofact.org, April 8, 2020.“Bond Insurance Returns to the Muni Market in a Big Way,” by Heather Gillers, wsj.com, Oct. 22, 2020.“Muni Bond Insurers See Demand Grow Amid Pandemic Worries,” by Liz Kiesche, seekingalpha.com, Oct. 22, 2020.Supply and Demand“Municipal Bond Market Update—September Edition,” by Corey Boller, dividend.com, Sept. 10, 2020.“Supply and demand shocks in the COVID-19 pandemic: an industry and occupation perspective,” by R Maria del Rio-Chanona and others, academic.oup.com, Aug. 29, 2020. “Will Supply-Chain Disruptions and Delayed Capital Spending Be Material,” by Brian Bernard, Morningstar.com, March 25, 2020.“Munis in Focus: 2020 Municipal Market Update,” by David Hammer, pimco.com, Sept. 11, 2020.“Global Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World,” by Willy C. Shih, hbr.org, Sept.-Oct. 2020.“Reviving States, Cities and the Munibond Market Amid COVID-19,” by Brian Wynne, morganstanley.com, April 27, 2020.“Revenue Streams Drying Up? Municipal Bonds in the Pandemic,” by Dennis DiCicco, jhinvestments.com, Aug. 20, 2020.Taxes“Calculating Tax Equivalent Yield: Are Municipal Bonds Right for You?” by Thomas Kenny, thebalance.com, May 11, 2020.“7 Best Tax-Free Municipal Bond Funds,” by Barbara Friedberg, money.usnews.com, Oct. 7, 2020.“Taxable Munis? They’re Worth a Look,” by Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Kiplinger.com, Jan. 2, 2020.“Coronavirus Fears Affect the Municipal Bond Market,” by Cooper Howard, schwab.com, March 18, 2020.“What Is the Muni-Treasury Ratio or M/T Ratio?” by Thomas Kenny, thebalance.com, July 29, 2020.Portfolio/PositioningStrategic Municipals Opportunities Fund“Muni Market Tailwinds Turn to Headwinds,” by Peter Hayes and Sean Carne