Bonds

Short-end munis extended their days long selloff, continuing to play catch up to short-end U.S. Treasuries, as triple-A munis correct from recent outperformance relative to taxables. USTs were firmer, while equities were up near the close. Triple-A benchmarks rose 11 to 15 basis points on the one-year and three to eight basis points in two

Municipal bond issuance in the Southwest shrank in the first half of 2022, while in Texas some big Wall Street banks dropped out of the top underwriter rankings in the wake of two state laws restricting access to government contracts. In the first six months, municipal bond issuers in the eight-state region sold $40.8 billion

Smaller-sized cities and towns worried they won’t be able to snag a piece of the infrastructure dollars unleashed in the new federal law have until the end of the month to apply for a first-of-its-kind program aimed at boosting their chances. The “specialized training boot camps” led by the National League of Cities will help

The federal infrastructure package will boost Illinois’ six-year transportation spending by $4 billion, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday. The state will spend an overall $24.6 billion under the six-year program for roads and bridges with $3.7 billion in spending during the current fiscal year. About $18.8 billion goes to roads with the remainder spent on

California lawmakers’ focus on one-time spending in the budget approved July 1 keeps the state on track for a potential rating upgrade one year out from receiving a positive outlook from S&P, but challenges remain. The state’s fiscal 2023 adopted budget “projects long-term structural balance through fiscal 2026, despite a projected multibillion dollar rise and

Short-end munis sold off Friday as pressure from two-year U.S. Treasury yields as well as rising floating-rate muni yields have begun to hit the triple-A yield curves. Treasuries were better five years and out while equities rallied to close out the week. Triple-A curves saw yields rise by as much as eight to 10 basis

The U.S. House of Representatives Friday sent President Joe Biden a long-debated climate, tax and healthcare bill. The legislation passed with a vote of 220 to 207 along party lines. Biden’s signature will mark the final chapter for an 18-month-long saga marked by intense negotiations among Democrats, who used a parliamentary procedure called reconciliation to

With the plan of adjustment hearing for the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority less than a week away, arguments remain over five legal objections to the plan. Insured bondholders, Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, HTA wage earners, an insurance company, and a dairy are challenging the plan.  The plan of adjustment

If all goes according to plan, municipal markets will see the largest ESG bond pricing ever next week as Massachusetts prepares to issue $2.7 billion of taxable business-tax backed special obligation revenue bonds. The sale of the socially designated bonds was delayed in July as state lawmakers debated a last-minute spending bill that would allocate

Veteran public finance attorney Renee M. Friedman stood out as a talented advocate for her clients who relished taking on tough transactions with a knack for boiling them down to plain English and always carved out time for social justice causes close to her heart, friends and colleagues said. Friedman, a former partner who most

Chicago’s heads into 2023 budget season with a $127.9 million gap to close, offering the market a key fiscal update as the buy-side heads to town for the city’s annual investors’ conference. The shortfall unveiled by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her finance team Wednesday marks a sharp decline from the last three years. Lightfoot came

States could begin releasing RFPs as early as the first quarter of 2023 to build out a national public electric vehicle charging network that’s a top priority for the Biden administration. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico met the Aug. 1 deadline to submit an EV charging station deployment plan. That

It was all about the primary Tuesday, with a lightly traded secondary market taking the back seat doing little to move triple-A yield curves in either direction, as large deals from Minnesota, the Los Angeles Department of Airports, San Antonio, Texas, and Philadelphia were the focus. U.S. Treasuries were weaker on the short end and

Detroit is asking the bankruptcy court to require that its police and firefighters retirement system stick with a 30-year amortization period agreed to in the city’s plan of adjustment that paved the way for its Chapter 9 exit in 2014. The city’s Police and Fire Retirement System threw a wrench in the city’s post-bankruptcy COVID-19

It was a steady start to the week, with municipal triple-A yield curves little changed, U.S. Treasuries took a break from last week’s volatility to close out firmer across the curve while equities were mixed. Muni-UST ratios on Monday were at 61% in five years, 81% in 10 years and 97% in 30 years, according

A surge in the use of alternative trading systems in the municipal bond market through the first half of 2022 punctuated the growing prevalence of such platforms among dealers and other market participants in recent years, according to data published in a recent MSRB report. The number of customer transactions completed through ATSs jumped from

The indictment of former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez on bribery charges damages the reputation of her political party, according to some analysts, but since her party is the only one advocating statehood for the island, the pain may be limited. Still, the arrest should have no impact on how long the Puerto Rico Oversight

A budget impasse that’s left Trenton, New Jersey, without an approved budget well into the new fiscal year continues, despite a recent brush with default. Beset by political rivalries, the state capital’s seven-member City Council, which must approve annual spending according to local law, has as of yet failed to produce the majority vote necessary

The Ontario City Council approved a sales tax measure Tuesday for the November 8 ballot to fund $1.2 billion of infrastructure projects, and other local governments in California are expected to take similar steps. The November midterms are expected to be particularly popular this year for tax and bond measures among cities, counties and school

Municipals sold off Friday with the front end of the curve being hit the hardest, though damage was felt across the curve. Triple-A benchmarks outperformed a U.S. Treasury rout where yields rose double-digits, and equities were down near the close. Nearly all triple-A benchmark yields were cut six to 10 basis points and UST yields