Today In The Markets

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Merrill Lynch $50,000 for reporting 65,335 municipal securities transactions that it shouldn’t have, part of a wider action against the banking behemoth that ended in $2 million in fines. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm agreed to the fines and a censure for violating MSRB Rules

Real technological change in the municipal bond market will be uncomfortable for the “merchants of complexity” that benefit from the current market structure. That’s the word from participants at MuniTech, a conference billed as a magnet for the “tech-forward” in public finance. “We all have to have a really hard discussion,” said Hector Negroni, a

Transcription: Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record. Mike Scarchilli (00:03): Hi everyone and welcome to The Bond Buyer Podcast, your essential resource for insights into everything municipal finance. I’m Mike Scarchilli, Editor-in-Chief of The Bond

Austin will start issuing bonds in late 2025 to help finance an estimated $4 billion airport expansion program to accommodate record-breaking passenger growth, according to the airport. Last week, the Austin City Council authorized the negotiation and execution of design and construction contracts for an arrivals and departures hall at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport that will

Municipal bonds are directly or indirectly involved in a flurry of litigation in Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah triggered by defaults, bankruptcy, environmental concerns, or laws that punish financial firms for their stance on fossil fuels.  The outcomes of the lawsuits could determine if bonds can be issued, who is to blame for defaulted debt,

Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal ReserveAl Drago/Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg Inflation and unemployment are the two key data points the Federal Reserve leans on when setting monetary policy, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell flagged another potentially relevant metric: personal savings.  Powell said government measures of gross domestic income, or GDI, had been coming in

Municipals saw some weakness up front while U.S. Treasuries saw losses across the curve after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled the Fed’s rate-cutting schedule was not yet certain as the U.S. economy remains strong. Equities closed in the black. USTs saw the largest losses on the short-end, with yields rising up to 7 basis

On Monday President Joe Biden addressed the nation about the federal response to Hurricane Helene and signaled he would ask Congress for supplemental disaster funding.  “That’s my expectation,” he said.  He also hinted at calling lawmakers back into session to help deal with the emergency. “That is something I may have to request. No decisions

Bond parties opposed to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s proposed Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy settlement have offered to invest fresh capital into the authority as part of a bankruptcy settlement. The parties made the offer in a written submission to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs,

Bond volume in 2024 is on pace to break previous issuance records as September marked another high-volume month with state and local governments bringing the market larger deals led by new-money. Issuance rose 44.5% in September year-over-year as dwindling pandemic aid and election uncertainty prompted issuers to come to market, pushing supply year-to-date just shy

Massachusetts plans to sell $490.7 million of municipal bonds to help fund improvements for its commuter rail and other transportation projects throughout the state. The bonds are scheduled to price Wednesday after a retail order period Tuesday, according to an online investor presentation. According to preliminary bond documents, the deal consists of three series: a

Municipal market advocates have tapped the University of Chicago’s Center for Municipal Finance to create first-of-its-kind municipal bond data that advocates hope to use to showcase the usefulness of tax-exempt bonds next year as the market’s cherished tax exemption faces an existential threat. The center will drill down to the congressional district level to examine

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved its 2025-2029 capital plan last week. It could not answer the question of how it will be funded. The 2025-2029 plan devotes most of its $68.4 billion price tag to keeping the system in a state of good repair.  A new train that entered service on the