Bonds

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is partnering with other federal regulators to lessen fears regarding the implementation of the Financial Data Transparency Act. The goal of this new law, which was passed in 2022, is to provide more transparency to the financial markets by introducing machine-readable formats into the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA

Miami International Airport received $27 million from the federal government for infrastructure projects designed to improve the passenger experience at one of the nation’s busiest airports. The funding was announced at a Thursday ceremony at MIA: Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava welcomed Polly Trottenberg, U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary, and Shannetta Griffin, the

Municipal bond issuance in the Far West region in 2023 was up 13.1% year-over-year to $75.2 billion, spurred in part by a fourth quarter rally, boosting sales 45% compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from LSEG, formerly Refinitiv. “There has been a tremendous rally, starting in December when the Federal Reserve

S&P Global Ratings has revised the outlook on Chicago’s general obligation bonds to stable from positive, the rating agency announced Thursday. S&P affirmed its BBB-plus rating on the bonds. The downward revision reflects budgetary pressures that have not been counterbalanced by new revenue growth, S&P said. Specifically, S&P cited rising public safety labor costs, recent

Municipals were little changed Thursday as muni mutual funds reported another round of outflows and the final deals of the week priced in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were weaker inside 10 years and equities rallied. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the third week of outflows, with LSEG Lipper reporting $11.4 million of outflows for the

Startup firm OpenYield is preparing to launch a digital fixed-income trading platform by the end of this quarter tailored toward retail investors. The fixed-income platform will focus on munis, along with Treasuries and corporates, said Jonathan Birnbaum, OpenYield’s founder and CEO. OpenYield can provide users with a “completely modern and equity-like trading experience because our

Dispensing infrastructure spending, combined with the need for advising on the implementation of the Financial Data Transparency Act has the Treasury Department looking to the private sector for talent and expertise.    Recent hires by Treasury seem to indicate the agency’s desire to bolster its staff with experienced experts from the private sector. The money flowing

Telluride, a ski resort destination in Colorado, is the first vacation town to sell municipal bonds for affordable housing this year. It likely won’t be the last. The reason for last week’s sale is immediately apparent by typing “Homes for Sale Telluride Colorado” in an Internet browser. The websites that appear show that anyone wanting

Washington, D.C.-based National Law Enforcement Officers Museum is turning to Congress for help in covering bond payments. The museum, which has struggled since it opened in late 2018, is propping up this year’s budget with a donation from Clint Eastwood, while it lobbies for passage of a House Republican bill that would send it federal

States, municipalities and public entities in the Southeast sold fewer municipal bonds last year than they did in 2022 as the uncertainty about the direction of interest rates took its toll on new issuance during the first half of the year. Full-year volume dropped 6.8% in 2023 to $65.8 billion from the $70.5 billion sold

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain rejected Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bond parties’ motion for immediate consideration of their request for a receiver. Bond parties last week requested a hearing within 30 days to lift the bankruptcy’s stay on remedies, like their appointment of a receiver for PREPA. Swain said she would consider the

Municipals were slightly firmer in spots Wednesday, as U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities saw more losses after January’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes showed the Fed was not in a hurry to cut rates. Triple-A yield curves were firmer by a basis point or two while a larger new-issue calendar was the focus

The Biden administration Tuesday announced $5.8 billion in water infrastructure funds for states, tribes and territories, the latest round of funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act record level of clean water investment. Th money includes $3.2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for water projects and $2.6 billion for the Clean Water

The Midwest region saw larger municipal bond deals yet fewer issues in 2023 compared to the previous year. Robust deal amounts in nearly half the region’s states offset declines in the remaining states in both overall volume and number of issues. Tax-exempt new money deals surged as Illinois overshadowed its neighbors in both deal size

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. The top five bond financings in the ranking have an average dollar volume of nearly $1.5 billion. The top 20 bond financings have a cumulative amount of more than $13 billion. Scroll through to see which bond financings are in the top

While pension funded ratios for states and other municipal issuers have improved in the last five years, measures of pension safety have deteriorated, analysts say. The condition of pensions is still the “elephant in the room” for municipal bonds, said HilltopSecurities Managing Director Tom Kozlik. Supporting pensions absorbs a large percentage of government spending. “That’s

Municipals were little changed Tuesday as most investors were awaiting new-issue supply, U.S. Treasuries offered little direction in a mixed session and equities were down near the close. Wednesday will see the release of January’s Federal Open Market Committee Meeting minutes, which “should show any division amongst the committee members as to the continued direction

The Federal Railroad Administration has proposed 15 daily long-distance Amtrak routes as part of the Biden administration’s effort to create a national passenger rail system. The FRA is seeking feedback on the preferred routes by March 8, and plans to make final recommendations to Congress in the spring. The map of 15 routes, released Friday

A private university based in Milwaukee will borrow $163.7 million through tax-exempt bonds to finance the construction of new emergency response facilities for the Wisconsin and Milwaukee County governments. The Medical College of Wisconsin is leasing land on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus to the state and county, and is building a new state

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has formally withdrawn its 2024 rate card filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, an administrative move that keeps in place the reverted rates from 2023. The board has also initiated a retrospective review of the annual rate card process and said it intends to take a hard look at

The amount of debt wrapped by bond insurance rose 5.8% in 2023, leading to the highest market penetration rate since 2008, despite the second year of down issuance. Demand for bond insurance has continued to grow in 2023 as market participants turned to it for investor confidence, increased market liquidity and enhanced credit ratings. All