Bonds

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

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

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

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

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

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

The worlds of finance and theater might seem very different, but Steven Mahr sees a common thread running through the work that he and his colleagues do to realize the city’s policy visions and the performances that take place on Chicago’s renowned stages.  Mahr, who moved to the city with his wife two years ago,

Rating agencies had some good news and bad news for San Francisco this week. S&P Global Ratings Monday put a negative outlook on the joint city and county’s underlying AAA general obligation bond rating, which means there is a one-in-three chance the rating could be downgraded over the next two years. But the city also

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

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed tax cut legislation that she called “too expensive” and offered lawmakers a less-costly alternative. The Democratic governor, who in January vetoed a previous tax reduction bill passed by the Republican-controlled legislation, said the latest measure “jeopardizes our state’s future fiscal stability.”    House Bill 2036, which cleared the House

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 Mayo Clinic has ambitious plans that start at home. When the Rochester, Minnesota-based nonprofit healthcare system updated its five-year plan last year, it said the move was part of a “strategy to transform healthcare globally.” The update reflected changes from a $5 billion expansion of Mayo’s flagship Rochester campus.  Mayo’s board of trustees approved

In a first-of-its-kind transaction, the city of Quincy, Massachusetts, issued $10 million of tax-exempt bonds using blockchain technology, taking the first step in what those involved in the transaction say could be a transformation of the municipal bond market. “The city of Quincy has invested in its innovation economy over the past number of years

The recent slew of prepaid energy bond issues in the Southeast continues to revive interest in the sector as demand remains strong for the tax-exempt paper. In a prepaid natural gas deal, public utilities secure a long-term supply of natural gas at a discounted rate. A conduit issuer, typically a special-purpose entity, sells these bonds.

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

Municipals were slightly weaker in secondary trading Wednesday as the Los Angeles Unified School District’s nearly $3 billion pricing for institutions took focus. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended mixed. Munis started the second quarter in “excellent shape,” as credit spreads are in fair value range, and muni-UST ratios start to cheapen, said GW&K

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

The U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature complained about the governor’s lack of consultation before he declared a state of emergency to pay off Water and Power Authority debts. The legislature gathered Tuesday to express its concerns about Gov. Albert Bryan’s Monday action, which used the emergency declaration to authorize spending the government’s rainy-day funds for WAPA

The recently announced sale of the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes and the team’s move to Utah could lead to bond issuances for arena projects in both states.  Under a plan approved by the NHL Board of Governors last week, the team, which had been unable to secure a permanent arena in Arizona, was sold

Citi‘s exit from the municipal business late last year, on the heels of UBS‘ closure of its negotiated underwriting business in October, has brought about a redistribution of high-level bankers, traders and other market players to a broad range of municipal firms that is leading to an evolved muni market landscape in 2024. Word of

Chicago’s City Council on Friday approved the issuance of $1.25 billion of bonds to fund affordable housing and economic development programs after debating the measure for the past month. Rather than raising property taxes, the city will let about 45 tax increment financing districts expire and, once the tax revenue from those districts returns to