Bonds

Southwest municipal bond issuance inched higher last year to $83.79 billion with Texas, which accounted for 70% of the debt, taking the top volume crown among states nationwide.  The region’s 0.6% gain over 2022 contrasted with the market’s overall 2.8% issuance decline,  according to LSEG Data & Analytics, formerly Refinitiv. Market volatility, higher interest rates,

Average underwriting spreads for all bonds were stagnant in 2023, continuing a 15-year downward trend, but negotiated and refunding deal spreads rose while competitive spreads fell. Underwriter spread ticked up slightly, rising to $3.66 in 2023 from $3.64 in 2022. Spreads on negotiated bonds rose to $3.76 in 2023 from $3.62 in 2022, while spreads

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined Morgan Stanley $1.6 million for failing to close out 239 inter-dealer transactions within twenty days, as well as for failing to obtain physical possession of 247 short positions. In doing so, the banking giant violated MSRB Rule G-12(h) on uniform industry practices, MSRB Rule G-27 on

Sparse secondary trading and the long holiday weekend allowed municipals to outperform U.S. Treasuries and corporates Friday as the dearth of primary issuance has kept investors engaged without demanding as much concession despite volatility. Triple-A yields were slightly cheaper on the short end while UST yields rose up to nine basis points on the short

Austin, Texas, officials are heading to court to seek validation for a controversial issuance of bonds to help fund a multi-billion-dollar light-rail project. The Austin City Council on Thursday authorized the move, as well as amendments to an agreement with the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), a corporation created by the city and its Capital Metro

Paulina Woo was named senior director of treasury management in Western Alliance Bank’s corporate finance and public and nonprofit finance groups. In her new role, Woo, who is based in Phoenix, will lead teams that tailor banking solutions for municipalities, local governments, nonprofit organizations, corporations and institutional investors. “Western Alliance Bank provides a distinctive set

As the infrastructure law nears the halfway point of its life, the rollout of its expanded Buy America provision, a key part of President Joe Biden’s bid to strengthen American manufacturing, has been confusing and failed to address gaps in the domestic supply chain. That was the message from state transportation departments and construction experts

Exceptions for manual trades and limited trading activity are crucial if the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s amendments to Rule G-14, its controversial move to a one-minute reporting standard from the current fifteen minute window, is adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s according to comments submitted to the SEC, which ranged from cautious acceptance

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the ESG Pension Protection Act — which requires the state pension fund’s decisions be based on maximizing returns — in a ceremony at the governor’s office. The bill, H.3690, was officially signed by the Republican governor on Feb. 5 and went into effect on Feb. 9. The bill directs

Tax incentives have long been a favored economic development tool of governments, but do we know how to actually use them ourselves? Well, we’re about to find out. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) deployed billions of dollars of tax incentives to fund clean energy and other green investments. In a history-making move, the bill opened

Moody’s Investors Service’s recent decision to stop endorsing U.S. public finance credit ratings for use in the European Union and the United Kingdom will trigger market volatility, negatively impact infrastructure needs, and reduce foreign investors’ presence in the muni market, market participants said. Due to Moody’s decision, EU/UK investors may be forced to sell their

California lawmakers are lining up statewide bond proposals ahead of the presidential election in November. The latest is a $1 billion bond measure introduced by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Los Angeles, in Assembly Bill 2208 to build out the ports to support offshore wind projects to generate electricity. Others include broad $16 billion climate bond

The secondary market was active and trading showed strong prints across the curve, pushing triple-A yields lower following a stronger U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A yields fell two to four basis points while UST yields fell two to three basis points. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows, with LSEG Lipper reporting $142.2

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board has brought on David Brownstein, who spent more than three decades at Citi with a focus on derivatives, distressed issuers and debt restructurings, as a restructuring advisor on its plan of adjustment for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Brownstein’s new boutique restructuring advisory firm, BGC Partners Advisory LLC, entered

The House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony from Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel on Wednesday as he defended the $80 billion budget boost the agency received from the Inflation Reduction Act, an increase that bond lawyers have suggested will lead to increased audits.  “There’s absolutely money being left on the table in terms

A measure to lift the federal deduction cap on state and local taxes failed to advance on a procedural vote in the House Wednesday, dooming the latest effort by high-tax state lawmakers to kill the controversial law. The SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., would have doubled the current $10,000

The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved ordinances laying the groundwork to issue roughly $26 million of general obligation limited bonds and $11 million of alternate revenue bonds, and to refund up to $145.9 million outstanding of Series 2021A bonds through a tender that would convert the taxable bonds to tax-exempt

Career muni analyst and advisor Patrick Early has joined the Treasury Department’s Office of State and Local Finance as a senior policy analyst at a time when the details of major legislative proposals, such as the Federal Data Transparency Act and the Basel III Endgame proposal are set to impact the municipal market. The move

Airports in nearly every state will receive $970 million in federal grants for terminal makeovers, the White House announced Thursday. The funding, which goes to 114 airports in 44 states and three territories, marks the third round of Airport Terminal Program grants under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocated a total of $5

States have queued up a robust pipeline of public-private partnership deals in the transportation space even as the pace of federally-funded projects is expected to quicken ahead of the autumn election. “It’s a big pipeline this year,” said Robert Poole, senior transportation director at Reason Foundation, who spoke with The Bond Buyer for an upcoming

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Infrastructure projects to watch this year include the reconstruction of the Interstate 5 bridge in Oregon, which received federal funding, as well as the Biden administration’s prioritization of high-speed rail systems on the West Coast. Read more about these and other infrastructure