Municipals were slightly weaker in spots, U.S. Treasury yields rose while equities made gains to kick off the FOMC-driven week. While most analysts do not expect the Fed to raise rates this week, uncertainty over December looms and volatility in U.S. Treasuries continues, moves that have mostly taken municipals along for the ride to higher
Bonds
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has said he will challenge more than $5.5 billion of federal transportation grants after the U.S. Government Accountability Office agreed with him that the grant criteria should be subject to Congressional approval. The GAO on Oct. 18 issued an eight-page ruling that found that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Multimodal discretionary
Against the backdrop of a big state-funded property tax cut and with a bond guarantee program fully back in business, Texas public school districts are asking voters for almost $18 billion of debt Nov. 7. That accounts for the lion’s share of the $28.48 billion of bonds in 218 measures on Texas ballots, according to
Analysts are certain the Federal Open Market Committee will not increase rates at the meeting that ends Wednesday, but the December meeting is still in play for the last 25 basis point rate hike that was predicted by the panel’s Summary of Economic Projections. The final 2023 meeting remains in play, according to Tony Welch,
No one really knew what would happen when Colorado legalized marijuana. Maybe the money would transform Colorado’s schools or destroy the Mexican drug cartels. Or turn the state’s youth into potheads and embolden the illegal market. In 2014, the year legal recreational cannabis hit the market in Colorado, the state pulled in $67 million of tax
New York City has received a boost of state support as it seeks to head off a worsening affordable housing crisis, including an increase in the bonding capacity of the New York City Housing Development Corp. Gov. Kathy Hochul this week signed into law a trio of bills passed by New York’s Legislature leveraging state
Municipals were steady Friday ahead of an expected paltry new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries were firmer 10 years and in and equities were mixed after a volatile week of market-moving economic data and increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East while all markets await the Federal Open Market Committee’s November meeting. “Any chance of a dovish
A new stream of federal funding may find its way into office conversions and other efforts designed to boost the nation’s housing supply, and public finance officers are eyeing a renewed effort to finance homebuilding with new rules on Community Development Block Grants and the freeing up of federally-owned land. The new efforts were officially
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has approved its first fees under its new rate card model, which helps the board respond to market pressures and adjust yearly rates accordingly, and expects to file those changes with the Securities and Exchange Commission within a month’s time. Of the four fees the board collects from regulated entities,
Market data platform SOLVE has introduced a public finance workflow solution that shows historical scales for all muni deals, allowing for spread comparisons of where a deal priced in the past to where it might price in current market conditions. The firm’s clients wanted a tool to deliver deal-based spreads on their terms, said Gregg
Oklahoma’s Council of Bond Oversight approved up to $560 million of revenue bonds Thursday for the state’s Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA), which is expected to start issuing the debt later this year. Proceeds will finance repairs and improvements, including a natural gas-fired generating unit to replace the authority’s last remaining coal-fired unit, as well
The city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, lost its minor league baseball team, the PawSox — the triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox — back in 2021 after an affiliation of more than 45 years. The team moved to nearby Worcester, Massachusetts, after Pawtucket couldn’t manage to put a deal together to build a new
A Louisiana congressional committee voted down plans for a $2 billion-plus public-private partnership that would replace an aging toll bridge near Lake Charles, a move that project proponents say will cost the state and provide for few alternatives. In an 8-6 vote on Tuesday, the Louisiana State Legislature’s Joint Transportation Highway and Public Works Committee
Municipals were little changed in mixed secondary trading as the last of the week’s largest new-issues priced and muni mutual funds clocked in more outflows. The U.S. Treasury market pendulum swung back to gains Thursday as investors reacted to the stronger-than-expected GDP numbers. Equities closed down. Triple-A yields were little changed after outperforming UST losses
Fitch Ratings says U.S. airports are moving ahead with tens of billions of dollars in capital projects now that passenger traffic has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. More than half of the 30 or so large hub airports in the U.S. have come to market in the last nine months, presenting Fitch Ratings with the
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has scant connection with the public finance world, but his election after three chaotic weeks in which the House’s top post was vacant opens the possibility that Congress may be able to avert a government shutdown looming next month, an important goal for the municipal market. “He’s a
During an unexpectedly challenging year so far, following an even more volatile one in 2022, predicting 2024 may seem daunting amid current market conditions. Despite that, as an industry it’s important to connect and get a sense of where others see various factors impacting the public finance community, from interest rates to ESG. We would
Jen Flood will be Michigan’s budget director, replacing Chris Harkins who is leaving the post next month. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday. Flood currently serves as deputy chief of staff, overseeing legislative affairs, federal affairs, policy, appointments, and community engagement divisions within the Democratic governor’s office. Jen Flood, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s current deputy chief
The U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing affirmative action has helped breathe new life into some of California’s municipal bond industry affinity groups. Some, like the four-year-old Muni Pride that went national this year and the Asians in Public Finance, were already clicking along. But two former board members of Women in Public Finance — Carmen
Volatility continues as municipals were slightly weaker in spots Wednesday but outperformed U.S. Treasuries, which saw the greatest losses out long. Equities ended down. Munis were cut up to three basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose up to as much as 14 basis points in 30 years. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio
Chattanooga, Tennessee’s public power utility board voted to approve the issuance of $125 million of new electric utility revenue bonds for improvements and new construction on local power networks. EPB of Chattanooga is the brand of the city’s Electric Power Board. The utility provides electric and telecommunications services over a 600 square mile service area