Bonds

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities rallied after the Federal Reserve held rates steady. “There was a collective sigh of relief in the financial markets after the Fed refrained from increasing its hawkishness at the May FOMC meeting,” said Jack McIntyre, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global. “In fact, nothing really

Bondholders opposed to the proposed Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority plan of adjustment asked the bankruptcy judge to hear new evidence the authority will have a greater than anticipated ability to pay off its debt. The bondholders submitted their “urgent motion” to U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain Monday evening. They are calling for

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined RBC Capital Markets $15,000 for violating Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rules G-15 on confirmation, G-8 on books and records and G-27 on supervision for their role in sending incorrect confirmations on municipal securities transactions. Municipal securities violations represent only a portion of the transactions FINRA highlighted in its

Shreveport, Louisiana, voters approved $256 million of general obligation bonds Saturday. The voters approved $125 million for a streets and drainage bond, $82 million for a water and sewer bond, and $49 million for a police and fire infrastructure bond. The first two bonds passed with 80% in favor and 20% against. The last passed

Upcoming highly-rated offerings from two Virginia agencies and the state of Delaware should provide some direction for yield curves as the market digests larger supply. Delaware is putting $367 million of general obligation bonds out for competitive bid on Tuesday.   The Virginia Resources Authority is set to price Tuesday $135.73 million of Virginia Pooled Financing Program infrastructure

Collin Teague has joined Siebert Williams Shank & Co. as a managing director in the company’s public finance group in New York, the firm announced Thursday. Teague was most recently an executive director in the municipal securities department at Morgan Stanley. “Collin joining us is further evidence of our commitment to growing our public finance

With about 94% of the $55 billion of federal funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the country’s water and wastewater needs yet to be disbursed, issuers may not need much in the way of municipal bonds for water infrastructure, analysts said. Bond issuance for water and sewer purposes declined 6.7% to

On Thursday the Governmental Accounting Standards Board requested feedback via a survey designed to aid the board’s tinkering with standards and disclosures regarding infrastructure and capital assets.   “We would like feedback from users of governmental financial statements on what information would have a meaningful effect (more than ‘nice to know’) on their analyses for decision making or assessment

The California Treasurer’s office will relaunch its DebtWatch website on May 1, offering a more user-friendly format with vastly more data than the original 2015 version. The website’s software will allow investors, issuers and taxpayers to access all the data the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission gathers on bond issuance to allow them to

Municipals held steady Friday ahead of a sizable $7 billion, new-issue slate with a mix of credits across the spectrum, from healthcare to housing to toll roads and bellwether general obligation issuers. U.S. Treasuries improved across the curve while equities rebounded after another volatile week across markets. “Bond market investors are all wishing that April was behind us as they

Investors should be aware of risks that Build America Bonds pose if called under an extraordinary redemption provision, as many of these could result in losses, especially if the bonds were purchased at a premium,the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board warned Friday. That comes amid expectations that issuers will redeem $20 to $30 billion in BABs

Municipals saw losses Thursday following U.S. Treasuries to higher yields, while equities sold off after GDP growth slowed in the first quarter. While growth slowed, inflation was hotter, said ING Chief International Economist James Knightley, as the core PCE deflator rose 3.7% on an annualized basis, three-tenths of a point higher than expected. “Unsurprisingly Treasury yields

Brightline, Florida’s privately owned passenger train, hit the tax-exempt market Thursday, after weeks of marketing, with more than $3.1 billion of low-investment grade and unrated bonds, some of which carried yields as high as 12%. The company enjoyed strong demand for all the paper, which was more than two times oversubscribed and saw more than

The California Supreme Court has granted review of a case challenging retirement reforms state lawmakers approved 11 years ago, marking a return of pension spiking questions to the high court for the first time since a 2020 ruling on an Alameda County case. The new case — Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association v. Criminal Justice

The push to allow tax-exempt bonds for spaceport infrastructure received renewed attention last week at a House subcommittee roundtable on the U.S. space race with China. “If you’re asking a private company that launches rockets to space, if you’re asking them to build the spaceport, it’s like asking American Airlines to build the airport,” Jim

Moody’s Ratings on Monday revised Illinois’ outlook to positive from stable. The rating agency also affirmed the state’s A3 issuer rating and the A3 rating on Illinois’ general obligation debt and Build Illinois sales tax bonds. It assigned a rating of A3 to $1.8 billion of forthcoming Illinois GO bonds. The new bonds include $250

An Oklahoma law that banned state and local government contracts with investment banks that “boycott” the fossil fuel industry boosted municipalities’ borrowing costs by 59 basis points on average, according to the latest research into the financial impact of so-called anti-environmental, social, and governance laws.   The study released Monday by the Oklahoma Rural Association comes

Fitch Ratings affirmed both Miami Jewish Health Systems and Subsidiaries long-term issuer default ratings and the the city of Miami Health Facilities Authority’s $41 million of Series 2017 revenue bonds issued by on behalf of MJHS at speculative-grade BB-plus. The rating outlook on both is negative, Fitch said. “The affirmation reflects good growth in the

The U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. declared a local state of emergency Monday to stabilize the islands’ electrical system and pay Water and Power Authority debts after various government-dependent agencies had not been paying their bills. The state of emergency will let the governor use the central government’s rainy-day fund to provide money

The Inflation Reduction Act has paved the way for broader participation in affordable housing and a renewed focus by developers on sustainability, panelists at Baker Tilly’s 2024 DevelUP conference said this week. One panelist called the 2022 law “the largest opportunity to build foundational generational wealth that you will experience,” and others praised the tax