Bonds

The new fund managing suburban Chicago and downstate police pension assets won’t make an end-of-the-month consolidation deadline but it’s seen an uptick in local funds ready to begin the transfer process after last week’s court ruling upholding the state law.   The increased willingness to abide by the 2019 law comes after Kane County Circuit

Some observers of Puerto Rico politics are concerned that the territory’s government appears to continue to avoid fiscal responsibility, ignoring past mistakes that led it into the largest bankruptcy in municipal market history. And some stakeholders fear what the island’s future looks like without a federal Oversight Board running the fiscal ship. On Tuesday, the

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s budget signing ceremony was overshadowed by a tight mayor’s race. Frontrunners U.S. Rep. Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, a billionaire mall developer, have been running neck-and-neck. Caruso has blanketed the airways with self-funded television ads effectively pushing out well-known Democrats like Los Angeles City Attorney and former state legislator, Mike

Municipals ended firmer on the short end Friday, capping off a quieter, but stronger week, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities sold off. Investors will be greeted Monday with an increase in supply with the new-issue calendar estimated at $6.488 billion in $4.142 billion of negotiated deals and $2.347 billion of competitive loans. The

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and former Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch presented Eugene Keilin with the Felix Rohatyn Award at the Citizens Budget Commission’s awards dinner. The award, given Thursday night at the CBC’s 90th annual gala held at Cipriani 42nd Street, honors a person whose career exemplifies public service and a commitment to New

Municipals were steady to firmer on the short end Thursday, while U.S. Treasuries were also little changed and equities rallied. After an impressive rally that began at the end of May leading to the first month of positive returns for the asset class, investors took the positive signals and poured cash into municipal bond mutual

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to change its fee structure to account for prior year results, a move aimed at ensuring the board maintains sufficient operating revenue and avoids collecting excess cash reserves. The new fee structure will establish a new Annual Rate Card Process

Municipals were better Wednesday as the smaller primary kicked into gear, while U.S. Treasuries sold off on the front end of the curve and equities ended in the red. Pressure on UST and volatility in equities hit after stronger economic data and continued hawkish Fed speak. “Stocks turned negative as expectations grew that the Fed

Sacramento-based Sutter Health received an improved outlook to stable from negative by Moody’s Investors Service, reflecting expectations that the health system’s improved financial position will continue. The outlook revision affects $4.5 billion in debt. “The affirmation of the A1 rating and the revision of the outlook reflect our expectation that recent operating improvements will be

State budget negotiations in New Jersey are getting the benefit of tax revenue hauls in March and April that far outpaced expectations. Signs of robust economic recovery in New Jersey added an additional $4.5 billion in revenue to the state’s fiscal 2022 estimates, according to Gov. Phil Murphy’s office. “The rapid revenue recovery last year,

Municipals were slightly firmer in light trading Tuesday with the asset class ignoring a large selloff in U.S. Treasuries while equities ended the session with losses. Triple-A yield curves saw up to two basis point bumps, continuing to outperform U.S. Treasuries, moving ratios lower again. Muni-to-UST ratios were at 74% in five years, 87% in

Infrastructure consulting firm InfraStrategies LLC, which provides infrastructure financing advice to a number of major issuers nationwide, has brought on board Emma Huang from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation. Huang follows the firm’s January hire of Joshua Schank, who ran LA Metro’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation, which oversees the agency’s

Parties in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy asked the judge Wednesday for an extra month to negotiate a debt restructuring deal. The Puerto Rico Oversight Board made the request on behalf of the the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, National Public Finance Guarantee, Assured Guaranty, Syncora Guarantee, Ad Hoc Group of PREPA

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed amendments to its Names Rule may not have a direct effect on the municipal bond industry today, though market participants believe it could influence proposals the SEC’s Office of Municipal Securities is considering for the future. The proposal comes days after BNY Mellon was fined $1.5 million by the

Rising home values are putting the spotlight on property taxes in Texas, where state lawmakers are eying tax relief options for the upcoming legislative session even as previously approved measures are slowing the growth in tax bills. Preliminary residential property values are up an average 24%, according to a Texas Association of Appraisal Districts poll

The Chicago City Council signed off on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s choice of Bally’s Corporation to hold the city’s first and only casino license, a project billed as central to structurally balancing the city’s books. The council vote of 41-7 came Wednesday several hours of contentious debate during which many members, even some who eventually cast

Municipals made further gains on Friday, pushing yields down as much as another eight basis points, to close out a seven-day rally, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the end of March 2020 as the market began to rebound from the COVID-19-led turmoil. Triple-A yields have fallen more than half a percentage point

Two municipal mutual funds managed by Nuveen will again open to new investors next month after a soft closure more than nine months ago, the firm said this week.  Both the reopening and soft closure of the funds were market-related and were decided in the best interest of shareholders, according to Nuveen. Effective June 1,

Municipals continued their rally Thursday with yields falling by another 12 to 15 basis points while U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities rallied. Secondary trading pushed yields lower again. Certain prints showed bonds trading up by more than 65 basis points from Friday’s levels. New York paper, in particular, was rallying in the secondary.

Not much needs to be said about the impact of rising rates and volatility on the muni market — new  issuance and trading activity have been impacted, and a look into the crystal ball suggests the rest  of 2022 will be more of the same. Add to that the challenges of attracting and retaining talent