Spots number one, seven and nine were the only firms that stayed put in the top municpal bond counsel rankings and there were three newcomers to the top 10. The top bond counsels combined for a total of $103.707 billion in 2,674 transactions in the first quarter of 2021, up from the $87.762 billion in
Bonds
Municipals were steady on Wednesday as the focus remained on the primary with secondary trading light and high-grade municipal scales and U.S. Treasury yields both unchanged while investors again poured in billions into municipal bond mutual funds. “Munis continue to rest comfortably in their range as bulge bracket deals hit the primary,” Jeffrey Lipton, head
Ballard Spahr LLP has hired four attorneys from White and Williams LLP known for their work in real estate and commercial finance, mergers and acquisitions, according to licensing and corporate counseling firm chair Mark Stewart. The four began Monday. Partner Maulin Vidwans and of counsel Jennifer Santangelo joined the firm’s finance department. Partner Ryan Udell
Municipals were steady as the market digested large deals from California, New York and Washington state in a week heavy on state credits while Treasury yields fell and stocks were mixed. It was all about the primary Tuesday with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority MTA deal repricing as much as 17 basis points lower
Municipals were flat as the market was salivating in anticipation of the arrival of billion dollar deals from three large specialty states as part of the week’s planned $10 billion bounty. No large deals were priced in the municipal market on Monday as attention focused on three separate billion-dollar deals planned for Tuesday from issuers
A recent court decision will provide nothing more than a temporary boost to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Moody’s Investors Service said. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit determined in mid-April the government wasn’t responsible for $43 million in interest and fees, after a lower court ruled the USVI had topay over
With a gas tax seemingly off the table in President Biden’s plan to pass an infrastructure bill, lawmakers and transportation advocates are looking to vehicle miles traveled fees. This comes as Senate Republicans begin to draft their own infrastructure bill, that comes in much smaller than President Biden’s $2 trillion proposal. Republicans’ $600 billion to
The U.S. central bank should continue to maintain monetary stimulus even as the U.S. economy is starting to experience rapid growth, said Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller. “Just because the growth rates are really good and everything’s looking like we’re heading out in the right direction, we’re still trying to make up a lot of
Indiana expects about a $2.4 billion bounce in revenue through 2023, joining the parade of states with healthier-than-expected revenue projections, which along with new COVID-19 pandemic-related federal relief is fueling debate on spending priorities. Indiana raised its current year, fiscal 2021 general fund tax revenue projection by 2.6%, or $463 million to about $18.2 billion
Municipals were firmer in spots in secondary trading but benchmark curves mostly held steady after a strong week that moved yields by as much as 10 basis points lower. U.S. Treasury weakness early Friday morning hit the breaks for munis, which will see an elevated bond volume next week with some marquee names that may
Federal statistics show Puerto Rico’s employment increased in recent months. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey, Puerto Rico’s number of employed increased 0.7% in March from February. According to BLS’s survey of non-farm establishments, employment went up 0.3% in the period. Though the household survey only shows a single month of
Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped 0.3% to 4.5% in March, the state Department of Labor said Friday, which is far below the national average of 6.0%. “Georgia’s economy is firing on all cylinders as a result of our balanced approach in protecting both lives and livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “While we
Puerto Rico’s path to statehood remains muddled because of differences among key members of Congress on how to resolve the territory’s political status. That was highlighted at a Wednesday afternoon hearing by the House Natural Resources Committee that didn’t resolve the conflict between two competing bills that lay out different paths to follow. Chairman Raul
The municipal market rallied Thursday with robust secondary activity, primary deals repricing lower, following better-than-expected economic data, a much stronger U.S. Treasury market, and high-yield municipal bond mutual funds reporting a record $1.28 billion of inflows. Municipals were stronger as the reality of an improved credit outlook, and strong demand buoyed by fund flows and
Statehood for the District of Columbia faces a Republican roadblock in the Senate that one Democratic congressman suggests could be broken by pairing it with statehood for Puerto Rico. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said at a House hearing Wednesday that the nation has a long political history of pairing new states. The Republican
Municipals firmed across the yield curve after a strongly bid deal from gilt-edge Delaware and active secondary activity moved levels lower by two to four basis points while nearly $2 billion more inflows were reported into municipal bond mutual funds. The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported another week of inflows with $1.995 billion coming into
Former National Association of State Treasurers President David Damschen is resigning as Utah State treasurer at the end of the month. Damschen is leaving office to become the president and CEO of the Utah Housing Corp. Damschen told The Salt Lake Tribune on Monday that he is “excited I can focus on helping to find
Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health enters the market Wednesday to raise funds to help pay for a behavioral health facility and repay a bridge loan that ended its partnership with HealthSpan Partners. Both are part of the system’s strategic plans that were revised after a merger with Michigan-based Beaumont Health was nixed last May. Ahead of
Municipal bonds were steady Monday ahead of a smaller, taxable-focused calendar, while U.S. Treasuries rose slightly after auctions and equities took a day off from breaking records. The week opened up with yields 10 to 15 basis points lower from the start of the month, “but that isn’t denting buyer enthusiasm,” said Kim Olsan, senior
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said that getting three-quarters of Americans vaccinated would be a signal that the Covid-19 crisis was ending, a necessary condition for the central bank to consider tapering its bond-buying program. “It’s too early to talk about changing monetary policy,” Bullard said in an interview with Bloomberg