Bonds

EDITORS’ PICKComplimentary access to top ideas and insights — curated by our editors. The Bond Buyer is excited to announce the return of the Hall of Fame of municipal finance for a second class of inductees, alongside the eighth annual class of Rising Stars, a program which showcases the brightest young minds in this industry.

Unlike recent Federal Open Market Committee meetings, where the market knew what to expect, this week’s could go one of several ways, analysts said. “Economist and market projections of the likely path of the Fed funds rate are all over the map and appear to be shifting dramatically on a daily basis,” said Scott Anderson,

Municipals were firmer in spots to end a chaotic week that saw triple-A benchmarks both follow U.S. Treasuries in a flight to quality and ignore UST movements — as munis did on Friday for the most part — as the banking sector crisis continued. USTs rallied and equities sold off Friday. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped

Regional leaders in the Northeast kept up high-profile efforts to show support for local entities facing challenges after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank in California and Signature Bank in New York. Despite federal measures to backstop all deposits, even those higher than the $250,000 deposit insurance limit, the failure of the California bank, which

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed an independent watchdog within the California Energy Commission to monitor the state’s petroleum market on a daily basis. The proposal represents a shift from his plan to place a cap on oil company profits, though it would give the commission more authority to investigate gasoline price spikes and the

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Federal Reserve shouldn’t be spooked into easing its campaign to contain inflation out of excessive concern about a credit crunch in the wake of the recent banking turmoil. “It would be very unfortunate if, out of solicitude for the banking system, the Fed were to slow down its

The banking sector crisis cast a wide net of influence over the municipal market this week, stirring pricing volatility, upending monetary policy predictions and raising questions among participants over how deep the troubles run and whether the potential contagion will roil economic prospects. Silvergate Bank’s March 8th announcement it was closing up shop led the

The takeover of the Houston Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on the basis of academic performance does not affect its AA-plus underlying rating, S&P Global Ratings analysts said Friday. The TEA said Wednesday the largest public school district in Texas will be run by a state-appointed board of managers and superintendent

Munis largely ignored a U.S. Treasury sell-off as reports that some troubled banks were getting new funding helped calm investors’ concerns about a global banking crisis. Equities rallied on the news. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped up to five basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose 10 to 25 basis points 10 years

A Biden administration proposal aimed at providing relief for transit agencies struggling with anemic ridership would benefit large agencies but could pressure smaller ones, local transit officials told a Senate panel Wednesday. President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget, unveiled last week, would free up $6.7 billion in so-called 5307 urbanized area grant formula grants

Trading spreads on Illinois GO bonds narrowed this week after the state’s latest rating upgrade, and an uptick in tax revenues could help keep the positive ratings momentum going if the state makes more headway on paying off debts and building reserves. The state’s moves to build up its rainy-day fund, pay down debts, and

The largest public school system in Texas will be run by state-appointed managers starting later this year as part of a takeover announced Wednesday by the Texas Education Agency. Houston Independent School District, which had $2.4 billion of bonds outstanding as of June 30, was targeted for takeover on the basis of academic performance.  The

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed new rules for all market entities, including broker dealers and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, to help address cybersecurity risks as one part of a three-part proposal intended to strengthen cybersecurity protections. Proposed new Rule 10, if implemented, would require entities across markets to establish, maintain and enforce

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have added to the uncertainty of whether the U.S. and California are headed for a recession. That lack of clarity led UCLA Anderson Forecast economists to provide a dual forecast in the quarterly report they released Wednesday: one where a recession lies ahead and one where

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority faces further scrutiny after the state attorney general ordered an investigative audit of the agency as it waits for a court ruling on the validity of bonds to start funding a $5 billion extension project. The audit is needed to determine whether OTA is in compliance with the law, state Attorney

Could the municipal bond market see refunding volume rise later this year if the Federal Reserve Board pauses or lowers interest rates in the aftermath of the market-stirring collapse at Silicon Valley and Signature banks? Most likely not, according to municipal market experts. “While the SVB collapse added significant volatility into the financial markets, I

The influx of cash from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is creating opportunities and challenges for state transit agencies which must find matching funds, navigate politic turmoil and compete against other municipal programs to keep improving their infrastructure. A group of three state transit officials discussed those challenges at this week’s American Public Transportation

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will not proceed with construction on a proposed AirTrain for LaGuardia Airport following the conclusion of a state-backed evaluation released this week. Transportation and construction industry experts “failed to identify a construction approach” that could overcome the “significant challenges and complexities” associated with plans for a

Moody’s Investor’s Service raised the outlook on the A. B. Won Guam International Airport senior revenue bonds Baa2 rating to stable from negative Wednesday. Moody’s Lead Analyst William Oh said the improved outlook stemmed from Moody’s expectation that enplanement levels will continue to improve because South Korea and Japan have lifted COVID-19-related travel restrictions. The

Join us for a conversation with preeminent banking regulation attorney H. Rodgin Cohen of Sullivan & Cromwell and American Banker Editor-in-Chief Chana Schoenberger to discuss how financial institutions can navigate these challenges. Transcript: Josh Rucci: Welcome, everybody, to snowy Arizent Studios. We are honored to have you here for a very informative and quite timely

A suit by subordinate Puerto Rico Sales Tax Finance Corp. (COFINA) bondholders may have implications for Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and other Puerto Rico bonds, a Puerto Rico analyst not involved in the case said. Marzulla Law, which specializes in claims in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, is representing the COFINA bondholders. The