Bonds

Changes in leadership at the U.S. Treasury haven’t changed the fact that the Office of Tax Policy is still missing a go-to expert with a deep background in tax-exempt bonds, leaving lawyers and other stakeholders to adjust and with some worries it could eventually be a problem. The OTP is responsible for developing and implementing

Municipals were steady to start the week as investors await the larger new-issue slate, outperforming U.S. Treasuries, while equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 58%, the three-year at 57%, the five-year at 56%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year at 81%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s

Municipal bond issuers in the Northeast sold $89.3 billion of debt in 2023, a 14% year-over-year drop that drove the national market into negative territory. Muni issuance in the region’s 11 states, two territories and the District of Columbia came in more than $14 billion below 2022 numbers, according to data from LSEG, formerly Refinitiv,

The story stays the same and that is munis remain rich but an uptick in supply will bring some pressure to the asset class. The steadiness of the muni market, despite the swings in USTs, shows both the trepidation of investor commitment at these levels and the underlying strength of the credit quality of the

Not-for-profit healthcare finances should improve this year, rating agencies said, and many healthcare issuers plan to test the bond market. The sector reached a “turning point” in calendar year 2023, Fitch Ratings said in a report released Wednesday. The latest perspective offers a shift from challenges and expectations analysts predicted as recently as January. Analysts

Louisiana is set to float $1.34 billion of private activity bonds in April as part of its largest public-private partnership to date, which will replace an aging bridge over Interstate 10 near St. Charles. The Louisiana Public Facilities Authority released details of the financing after the State Bond Commission last week signed off on the

Alabama airports would be able to enter into public-private partnerships under a bill that advanced through the state House this week. House Bill 87 passed the House Tuesday less than three weeks since it was introduced by Republican state Rep. Chip Brown. It is now pending at the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee. “Alabama is

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is partnering with other federal regulators to lessen fears regarding the implementation of the Financial Data Transparency Act. The goal of this new law, which was passed in 2022, is to provide more transparency to the financial markets by introducing machine-readable formats into the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA

Miami International Airport received $27 million from the federal government for infrastructure projects designed to improve the passenger experience at one of the nation’s busiest airports. The funding was announced at a Thursday ceremony at MIA: Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava welcomed Polly Trottenberg, U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary, and Shannetta Griffin, the

S&P Global Ratings has revised the outlook on Chicago’s general obligation bonds to stable from positive, the rating agency announced Thursday. S&P affirmed its BBB-plus rating on the bonds. The downward revision reflects budgetary pressures that have not been counterbalanced by new revenue growth, S&P said. Specifically, S&P cited rising public safety labor costs, recent

States, municipalities and public entities in the Southeast sold fewer municipal bonds last year than they did in 2022 as the uncertainty about the direction of interest rates took its toll on new issuance during the first half of the year. Full-year volume dropped 6.8% in 2023 to $65.8 billion from the $70.5 billion sold

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain rejected Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bond parties’ motion for immediate consideration of their request for a receiver. Bond parties last week requested a hearing within 30 days to lift the bankruptcy’s stay on remedies, like their appointment of a receiver for PREPA. Swain said she would consider the

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

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

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