Bonds

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

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. 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. Caitlin Devitt (00:04): Hello and welcome to another Bond Buyer podcast. I’m Caitlin Devitt, senior Infrastructure

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined Morgan Stanley $1.6 million for failing to close out 239 inter-dealer transactions within twenty days, as well as for failing to obtain physical possession of 247 short positions. In doing so, the banking giant violated MSRB Rule G-12(h) on uniform industry practices, MSRB Rule G-27 on

Sparse secondary trading and the long holiday weekend allowed municipals to outperform U.S. Treasuries and corporates Friday as the dearth of primary issuance has kept investors engaged without demanding as much concession despite volatility. Triple-A yields were slightly cheaper on the short end while UST yields rose up to nine basis points on the short

Austin, Texas, officials are heading to court to seek validation for a controversial issuance of bonds to help fund a multi-billion-dollar light-rail project. The Austin City Council on Thursday authorized the move, as well as amendments to an agreement with the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), a corporation created by the city and its Capital Metro

Paulina Woo was named senior director of treasury management in Western Alliance Bank’s corporate finance and public and nonprofit finance groups. In her new role, Woo, who is based in Phoenix, will lead teams that tailor banking solutions for municipalities, local governments, nonprofit organizations, corporations and institutional investors. “Western Alliance Bank provides a distinctive set

As the infrastructure law nears the halfway point of its life, the rollout of its expanded Buy America provision, a key part of President Joe Biden’s bid to strengthen American manufacturing, has been confusing and failed to address gaps in the domestic supply chain. That was the message from state transportation departments and construction experts

Exceptions for manual trades and limited trading activity are crucial if the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s amendments to Rule G-14, its controversial move to a one-minute reporting standard from the current fifteen minute window, is adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s according to comments submitted to the SEC, which ranged from cautious acceptance

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the ESG Pension Protection Act — which requires the state pension fund’s decisions be based on maximizing returns — in a ceremony at the governor’s office. The bill, H.3690, was officially signed by the Republican governor on Feb. 5 and went into effect on Feb. 9. The bill directs

Moody’s Investors Service’s recent decision to stop endorsing U.S. public finance credit ratings for use in the European Union and the United Kingdom will trigger market volatility, negatively impact infrastructure needs, and reduce foreign investors’ presence in the muni market, market participants said. Due to Moody’s decision, EU/UK investors may be forced to sell their

The secondary market was active and trading showed strong prints across the curve, pushing triple-A yields lower following a stronger U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A yields fell two to four basis points while UST yields fell two to three basis points. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows, with LSEG Lipper reporting $142.2

The Kentucky Office of the State Budget Director reported January’s general fund receipts increased to $1.3 billion, up 4.4% from the same time last year. Last month’s sales tax receipts hit a record high at $586.2 million. Large increases also occurred due to a new section of the individual income tax, the pass-through entity tax,

Munis were steady to a touch firmer in spots and new-issues fared well in the primary, while U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended the trading session up as markets further digested inflation data and its effects on future Fed moves. Triple-A yields fell a basis point or two, depending on the curve, while USTs

Nearly half of America’s private colleges and universities reported negative operating margins in fiscal year 2023, and the situation was even worse in the Midwest, according to preliminary data compiled by Merritt Research Services. Within the Midwest region, roughly 50% of colleges in the east north central states had negative operating margins, while 67% of

The number of distressed charter schools rose to a record in the beginning of 2024 as the sector struggles with the end of pandemic assistance and rising costs. So far this year, five charter schools have become impaired, meaning a borrower has defaulted on their debt, broken a covenant or used some emergency means to

The days of booming job growth in Texas may be ebbing, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve, which expects the state to return to more normal growth of 2% this year. In their economic outlook for the Lone Star State released Friday, Dallas Fed economists projected the addition of 283,500 jobs in 2024, following gains

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy proceedings will not be paused despite a request from bond parties, U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain said Monday. Though the First Circuit Court of Appeals is considering how bond parties’ liens on PREPA’s revenues should be treated in the bankruptcy, Swain said regardless of that court’s

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to tap the commonwealth’s surplus revenues for his wide-ranging budget agenda. The Democrat proposed sweeping changes to Pennsylvania’s K-12 and higher education systems and $500 million of borrowing to fund his new economic development plan in his budget address on Tuesday.  The budget proposal was $48.34 billion, an increase of

Municipals ended the week quieter than they began it with a mostly steady to firmer tone in spots Friday, outperforming U.S. Treasuries, which saw small losses. Equities were mixed at the close. Tax-exempt yields have moved higher with Treasuries, but outperformed on the whole, while municipal to UST ratios have been “largely moving sideways” in