Bonds

Municipal bonds were little changed Monday, ignoring volatility in the stock market and a softer U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A municipal benchmark yields were steady to a touch firmer as the market awaits a sizable calendar led by a large taxable Alabama general obligation deal and a diverse set of credits from airports to charter schools

Top bond underwriters are backing away from Texas after they were targeted by a law to protect the firearms industry. Three of the state’s top five underwriters in the first half of 2021 — JPMorgan, Citi, and Bank of America — accounted for $6.4 billion of deals, according to Refinitiv. Those firms and Wells Fargo

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved a bond restructuring bill Thursday night contingent on there being no cuts to government pensions. On Monday, the Puerto Rico Oversight Board said it was willing to raise the threshold for pensions to be cut to $2,000 or more per month from its previous threshold of $1,500 or

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board expects to spend $43.3 million during the fiscal year that began Friday, releasing a FY 2022 budget highlighting investments in technology and a focus on upholding the public trust. “Informed by extensive engagement with our stakeholders, we are making strategic investments focused on strengthening the capital market that facilitates economic

Michigan entered fiscal 2022 Friday with a new budget director and a $70 billion budget after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the final pieces that were negotiated with lawmakers amid a flood of federal relief and surging state tax revenues. On Thursday, Whitmer named Christopher Harkins, director of the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency, to replace outgoing

The municipal secondary was quiet after a volatile week that moved municipal rates higher and ratios into a range that investors say are a more satisfactory level to engage in the asset class following months of stagnant rates. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed Friday while U.S. Treasuries ended the week at lower yields — sub

Municipals were little changed with a softer tone Thursday while municipal bond mutual funds saw a drop in inflows to $408 million and high yield saw its first outflows since March 3. For 30 straight weeks, investors put cash into municipal bond funds although their confidence may be waning, according to data released Thursday. Refinitiv

Federal authorities dropped the hammer Thursday on the former head of fixed income trading at the now defunct Atlanta-based IFS Securities Inc. for allegedly engaging in unauthorized and speculative trading activity that bankrupted the firm. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed criminal and civil

Municipals were slightly weaker outside of five years Wednesday, with triple-A benchmarks cutting levels by a basis point or two, after four days of a correction to higher yields not seen since February and March of this year. U.S. Treasuries pulled back from Tuesday’s losses earlier in the morning, but yields rose into the afternoon

Plans to increase the commercial paper authorization for Los Angeles wastewater projects advanced this week. The city council’s budget and finance committee approved a request Monday to increase the city’s commercial paper program to $400 million from $250 million to support $2.2 billion in planned wastewater system projects. City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo submitted the

Tarrant County, Texas, will be authorized to issue $400 million of transportation bonds if voters approve the proposal Nov. 2. The bond issue by the fast-growing county that includes Fort Worth and its booming suburbs would be its first for transportation since 2006. Proposition A splits the $400 million into two categories. Half of the

Municipals were weaker again on Monday as the aftermath of Friday’s selloff continued to target the 10-year range of the yield curve amid the imminent arrival of more than $11 billion of new deals in the last week of the quarter. The high-grade scale saw cuts of as much as four basis points in the

WASHINGTON — Robert Kaplan, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, announced that he would step down next week, just hours after Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said he would resign. Kaplan said Monday afternoon he wanted “to eliminate any distractions” at the Fed after it was revealed that he had engaged in

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 24 bills that allocate $15 billion to further the state’s efforts to combat climate change, drought and wildfires. The total includes additional funding agreed to by the Legislature after the $261.4 billion budget was passed by the constitutional deadline and signed by the governor in July, but also some funding

Cities have spent the last decade seeking the kind of federal support found in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that the House may vote on as soon as Monday, said mayors and representatives from the National Urban League in a press conference today. “Mayors in the U.S. have been in infrastructure week for over a decade

Muni issuers are considering and beginning to roll out blockchain based solutions, including distributed ledger technology for various muni projects, but the market remains nascent. The introduction of blockchain and its use of digital ledger technology caught market attention in 2016 as a banking alternative that could transform operating systems, and for munis, promised the

Municipal yields edged higher Friday as selling pressure emerged early and buyers greeted it by demanding some concessions, though municipals still outperformed taxables by a large degree on the week. Triple-A benchmark yields rose another two to three basis points, moving the municipal 10-year to 1% on both Refinitiv MMD and ICE Data Services scales.

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives could approve next week restructured bonds for the Puerto Rico bankruptcy, which may move the process along. House Speaker Rafael Hernández Montañez plans to submit a bill to allow the sale ofrestructured bonds consistent with the proposed Plan of Adjustment, said Lilliam Maldonado, spokesperson for Rep. Jesús Santa Rodríguez,

As Congress debates a $1 trillion infrastructure program, Ballard Spahr announced William Estes, an experienced public sector attorney, has joined the P3/Infrastructure Group in its New York City office. Estes, who has over 20 years of experience as a lawyer, has overseen multibillion-dollar design-build and infrastructure developments for government agencies, Ballard Spahr Chair Mark Stewart

Municipals could not ignore broader markets and triple-A scales cut levels by two to three basis points along the curve, but again largely outperformed a major risk-on trade Thursday that moved U.S. Treasuries to trade off double digits while equities boomed. Secondary trading showed weaker prints into the early afternoon. Large blocks of benchmark credits

Mintz is bulking up its bankruptcy and restructuring practice with the hiring of veteran specialists Nathan Coco and Megan Preusker. The two joined Mintz this month from McDermott Will & Emery LLP. They specialize on restructuring and insolvency covering distressed finance issuers, merger & acquisition transactions, creditor rights, and bankruptcy litigation with an emphasis on

Municipals sat tight again Wednesday as broader markets digested the Federal Open Market Committee leaving interest rates unchanged and noting the tapering process may begin sooner. The news was largely expected and U.S. Treasuries ended the day a touch firmer while equities made up for lost ground though pared back earlier gains. “The biggest news

The House today is poised to approve a stopgap funding bill that would suspend the debt ceiling, one of several legislative showdowns that include major infrastructure and spending bills and collectively have major municipal market implications. “You have the most complex legislative maneuvering I’ve ever seen in my decades of experience, in which the infrastructure

S&P Global Ratings has singled out states’ underfunding of retiree medical benefits as a key credit risk for states. States continued to sharply underfund their OPEB plans and unfunded liabilities ticked upward in fiscal 2020, S&P analysts reported in their annual survey published Monday. During the economic expansion preceding the pandemic, few states pursued and

Ohio State University hits the market Tuesday with $600 million of green-designated bonds to finance a hospital facility. Proceeds will go toward construction at the school’s Wexner Medical Center, with opening expected in 2026. It will house up to 820 beds in private-room settings, 60 neonatal intensive care beds, and state-of-the-art diagnostic, treatment and inpatient

Municipals largely ignored the rally in U.S. Treasuries and a massive selloff in equities as participants await another large new-issue week. Without the primary in play and a mostly muted secondary, triple-A benchmark yield curves were little changed, coming nowhere near the moves in Treasuries as the 10- and 30-year UST fell five and six

Tax law changes and bond provisions included in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package being debated in Washington likely will shift the demand components for and the makeup of the muni market in dramatic ways in the coming decade. The market is closely watching Washington to see whether the proposed tax law changes — higher rates

Rebounding casino and new online gambling tax revenues will give Detroit’s general fund a boost this year and in the coming ones as it tackles looming pension contribution pressures. The city’s estimating conference revised general fund projections for the fiscal 2022 which began July 1 to $1.1 billion from $995 million thanks mostly to $66

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board reiterated its position on pension cuts in the Plan of Adjustment Friday, the biggest source of tension it has with the local government, but was unclear on how willing it was to accommodate the government’s demands. Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and many of the legislators have called for zero

Municipals were a touch softer Friday as U.S. Treasuries rose and equities sold off as global concerns over China and COVID were heightened and participants prepared for the FOMC meeting and potential for tapering next week. Triple-A benchmark yields rose a basis point beginning in 2028 while UST were off another three to four on