Bonds

The Supreme Court decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, ruling that the Securities and Exchange Commission can’t use administrative court proceedings in cases where it seeks civil penalties, may close down one lane the SEC uses to enforce the market, but it won’t altogether change how the Public Finance Abuse Unit operates. The municipal securities market

Moody’s Ratings downgraded two private universities in California this week as higher education continues to grapple with declining enrollment and slower revenues nationally. Moody’s cut the University of La Verne’s rating to Baa1 from A Thursday, affecting $101 million in revenue bonds issued for the school in eastern Los Angeles County. It downgraded the University

Municipals closed the month and the first half of 2024 on a quiet note ahead of the Fourth of July holiday-shortened week and a new-issue slate coming in at a measly $240 million — though there was much to watch on the sidelines. Munis outperformed U.S. Treasuries Friday by holding steady as govies saw some

Issuance rose in June as improved market momentum, growth of Build America Bond refundings and mega deals pushed bond volume higher year-over-year for the sixth consecutive month. June’s volume came in at $44.769 billion in 798 issues, up 12.8% from $39.705 billion in 867 issues in 2023. June’s total is above the 10-year average of

Observers and participants in the yearslong effort to turn around Puerto Rico’s economy offered mixed opinions about the significance of the impending departure of Puerto Rico Oversight Board Chairman David Skeel . Skeel will leave the board after a successor is approved. He has been on the board since it was founded in August 2016.

Eric Fischer, managing director in Wilmington Trust’s Global Capital Markets division will retire effective June 30. Fischer was instrumental in the growth of Wilmington Trust’s escrow and public finance businesses in the Northeast and the tender option bond and structured municipal businesses nationally, the institution said. Eric Fischer, managing director in Wilmington Trust’s Global Capital

Puerto Rico Oversight Board Chairman David Skeel announced he will leave the board after nearly eight years. Skeel, one of the original seven members appointed in August 2016, shortly after the passage of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, said he will leave when a replacement is in place. In mid-2020 then-Board

Some horse-trading occurred on two initiatives Tuesday as the California governor reached deals to pull them from the ballot if he signed off on legislation that would resolve the issues. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sunday to sign the budget, which has resulted in some 11th hour changes, leading up to the deadline, even though

Favorable market conditions, a general acceptance of rates staying higher for longer and growing uncertainty ahead of the November election have led state and local government issuers to bring more debt than anticipated and in much larger deals to market so far in 2024, a welcomed trend after two paltry years of issuance. Total volume

Denver voters will decide whether to increase the sales tax rate to raise an estimated $70 million annually for Denver Health, Colorado’s sole safety net healthcare provider.  The Denver City Council on Monday approved putting a 0.34% sales tax increase on the Nov. 5 ballot to aid the health system, which has been hit with

Municipals were steady Monday ahead of a surge in supply, as U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly out long and equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 64%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 67%, the 10-year at 66% and the 30-year at 84%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market

Software solutions firm Investortools and technology-driven broker-dealer Millennium Advisors have partnered to streamline the usual muni investment managers’ manually intensive workflow, the firms said. Millennium will provide clients with real-time pricing and trade execution capabilities by connecting directly to the Investortools Dealer Network, or IDN, according to a press release. Millennium will be a “fully

Hospitals in California may get the extra time some say they need to meet stringent earthquake-safety requirements. As it stands now, hospitals will be forced to close if they haven’t completed the required work by a 2030 deadline under a state law originally crafted following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. “Almost two-thirds of the hospitals in

Pressure is beginning to mount for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expand its role in responding to major weather events and to declare the effects of smoke and extreme heat a major disaster on local communities. That comes in the form of a new petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Arizona

The California Supreme Court removed a sweeping anti-tax measure from the November ballot that the state’s Democrats claimed would have been catastrophic for local government budgets. The high court found the measure to be a far-reaching revision of the state constitution and “because those changes would substantially alter our basic plan of government, the proposal

The election, the national debt, and the key legislative accomplishment of the Trump administration has lawmakers and lobbyists taking stock of their positions and reassessing which hills to die on.  “If Congress must tackle the expiration of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions through bipartisan compromise, the process will likely move slower and allow more

Municipal investors can expect more than $12 billion of bonds and notes in the week of June 24 as issuers forge ahead with primary offerings amid a steadier market and a higher-for-longer mindset settles in. Recent market moves have led munis to outperform other fixed-income asset classes and position tax-exempt returns to close out June

They’re calling next year the Super Bowl of federal tax policy, and everything, including the municipal market’s prized tax exemption, will be in the game. Congress is gearing up for a potentially major tax overhaul post-election as provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the largest tax overhaul since 1986, are set to

Houghton University, a liberal arts school in Western New York established in 1883, saw its rating downgraded into junk status by S&P Global Ratings. The rating agency cut the school’s tax-exempt bonds one notch to BB-plus from BBB-minus, citing its track record of deficits plus a large operating shortfall expected in fiscal 2024.  “We believe

Puerto Rico’s financial oversight board is seeking to reopen a confirmation hearing on a debt-restructuring plan for the island’s power utility after an appeals court last week ruled that bondholders have a claim to the agency’s future net revenue. The oversight board, which manages the bankruptcy of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, called PREPA, wants