Bonds

A nearly depleted triple-A-rated school bond guarantee program in Texas will get a huge capacity increase after the state board of education lowered the amount set aside for a reserve.  The reduction in the Permanent School Fund program’s reserves to 0.25% from 5%, which was approved earlier this month, along with additional capacity from February

Southwest issuers sold $82.2 billion of municipal debt last year, a 10.5% tumble from 2021 that was the smallest decrease among regions and well below the 19.5% plunge nationwide.  In Texas, which accounted for the lion’s share of the Southwest’s issuance, laws restricting access to government contracts shook up underwriter rankings as some big investment

Less than two years after selling $504.5 million of taxable pension bonds, Kansas is considering buying back a chunk of the debt from bondholders using surplus revenue. House Bill 2102 would appropriate $250 million for the state treasurer to repurchase $300 million of term bonds due in 2051 through a tender offer.  State Treasurer Steven

The Federal Reserve will likely have to keep raising interest rates to rein in price growth, which could slow economic expansion and affect the jobs market, Governor Michelle Bowman said. “We are still far from achieving price stability, and I expect that it will be necessary to further tighten monetary policy to bring inflation down

Total 2022 municipal bond sale volume plunged 19.5% from 2021, as issuers were flush with cash and rising interest rates stymied refundings and taxable issuances. Continued market volatility, inflation hitting four-decade highs, and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions kept issuers on the sidelines. Total volume in 2022 was $389.094 billion in

The amount of debt wrapped by bond insurance fell 23% in 2022, but industry bond insurance penetration remained at the 8% level, well above pre-pandemic levels. All municipal bond insurers wrapped $28.884 billion in 2022, a decrease from the $37.524 billion insured in 2021, according to Refinitiv data. The lower insurance volume resulted from the overall

Municipalities relied less on interim financing in 2022, which triggered a 25.6% decline in short-term note issuance, resulting in historically low volume for the year, according to municipal sources. Overall, short-term volume fell to $24.83 billion in 1,757 issues, compared to $33.35 billion in 1,944 issues in 2021, according to data from Refinitiv. City, state,

In a year marked by shrinking issuance, the electric power and utilities sectors showed the smallest volume contractions. Electric power declined 3.4% and utilities declined 10.1%, compared to 2021 levels. Overall municipal volume was down 19.5%. All data is from Refinitiv and all percentages are for changes in dollar issuance volume in 2022 compared to

Municipals were weaker Friday ahead of next week’s heavier new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were mixed. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut up to five basis points, depending on the scale, while U.S. Treasury yields rose three to eight basis points, pushing the two-year UST above 4.50%. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at

The Florida Legislature concluded its special session on Friday and passed new laws that renamed the Reedy Creek Improvement District and put its control in the hands of Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Legislature approved a bill in April to dissolve all independent special districts created before 1968. The bill’s authors and DeSantis made it clear it was intended to punish the

The American Dream Mall is being sued by a group of junior lenders of private loans that helped finance the construction of the $5 billion shopping complex in New Jersey, according to documents filed on Feb. 7 with the New York State Supreme Court. The lawsuit, Bloomberg Law reported, was brought by SOL-MM III LLC,

Nearly half of Puerto Rico’s residents will be exempt from paying a proposed charge to support the restructured Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bonds, the Puerto Rico Oversight Board said. The amended proposed PREPA plan of adjustment, filed Thursday, calls for a monthly fixed $13 fee and a volume-based charge for use up to 500

Illinois’ consolidation of suburban and downstate police firefighter pension fund assets cleared a second legal hurdle but it could take a decision from the Illinois Supreme Court to clear the path for full participation in the plan. Kane County Circuit Court Judge Robert Villa last May upheld the law and an appellate court this week

Michigan is considering a large, first-time road tolling program that would establish a public tolling agency and new borrowing credit to shore up a long-struggling road funding system. The toll program, which would begin with nearly 600 of mostly interstate miles, would also be somewhat unusual in that it would build on existing roads. Most

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said the odds of the Federal Reserve being able to control inflation without triggering a recession are growing, but that the key interest rate must get above 5% and stay there to ensure price pressures ease. “We actually are increasing the odds — we can get a soft landing. That

Nevada’s rainy-day fund has soared to $904 million, the highest balance in state history, according to Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine. The balance grew to this level following the transfer of $516.9 million from the state’s general fund last week, according to a release from the treasurer. The balance is more than double what it

Volume in the Northeast fell 11.3% last year as issuers sold $102.3 billion of municipal bonds in 1,520 deals compared to $115.4 billion in 2,283 deals in 2021. The region still beat the national numbers, which saw municipal bond issuance fall 19.5% to $389.1 billion. In the Northeast in 2022, tax-exempt issuance dropped 3.4% to

Municipals were mixed Thursday as inflows into muni mutual funds returned, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker, and equities ended down. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 53%, the five-year at 54%, the 10-year at 60% and the 30-year at 87%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the three at

Spurred by a multi-billion-dollar surplus, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed fiscal 2024 budget would pour more spending into education, infrastructure and economic development, offer tax relief, and make new rainy day deposits. The record $79 billion budget Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Budget Director Christopher Harkins presented to lawmakers Wednesdaywould spend most of the state’s $9

Gov. Ned Lamont proposed his biennial budget to Connecticut lawmakers, a spending package that includes income tax rate cuts and spending initiatives to help stem growing labor shortages in critical fields. “Connecticut has enjoyed strong economic and population growth,” Lamont said Wednesday. “Building off this momentum, my budget continues to grow the economy through a

U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. asked a U.S. Senate committee for an increased rum cover tax, more federal aid, and laxer Environmental Protection Agency enforcement. Bryan said the U.S. Congress should extend the rum cover tax rate at $13.25 rather than $10.50 per proof gallon retroactively for 2022 as well as for 2023.