Bonds

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

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

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,

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.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., and including Young Kim, R-Calif., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.Y., and Anna G. Eshoo D-Calif., relaunched a SALT caucus on Wednesday, dedicating themselves to lifting the cap on the state and local tax deduction. The SALT caucus wielded some power in the previous Congress, threatening to refuse

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed its proposed Rule G-46 on the duties and standards of conduct of solicitor municipal advisors with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which provides definitions for certain terms, adds disclosures for solicitor MAs to provide to their clients and creates rules prohibiting those solicitors from providing misleading statements. Solicitor

Municipal bond market leaders discussed their expectations for regulatory developments, the economic environment and issuance on a panel at The Bond Buyer’s 2023 National Outlook Conference. “The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is in the midst of a robust rulemaking phase,” said Mark Kim, chief executive officer at the MSRB. “Our regulatory agenda is focused on

The California Pollution Control Financing Authority plans to price $158 million in revenue bonds next week to pay for modifications to the seawater intake system for a San Diego County desalination plant. The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant was built by private operator Poseidon as a partnership that supplies water to the San Diego