Bonds

Munis were weaker Friday ahead of a larger new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries saw yields fall, and equities ended the trading session up. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Friday was at 66%, the three-year was at 67%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 71% and the 30-year at 90%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. read.

Legislation that would update Internal Revenue Service rules governing debt financing for small to mid-sized manufacturers and farmers is getting a fresh push in the Senate. The Modernizing Agricultural and Manufacturing Bonds Act is sponsored by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.   “By modernizing and clarifying the rules for aggie bonds and industrial development

Nuveen’s former longtime head of municipals John Miller has landed at New York-based First Eagle Investments, where he will oversee the firm’s debut in the municipal bond market. Miller, 56, is expected to join the firm in January, where he will set up a new muni department that will focus on junk bonds, his specialty

Bondholders may have actionable claims related to the sale of now-defaulted debt that financed an Arizona participant sports venue for Legacy Cares Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in May, according to a disclosure notice.  Law firm Davis & Ceriani “has concluded that there may be actionable claims related to the sale of the bonds that

New Jersey’s American Dream Mall reported a $245 million loss as costs increases outstripped modest revenue gains in 2022. According to a three-page financial document posted on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA bond disclosure website Monday, the mall, developed with help of large public financing package, reported a loss four times bigger than the

Munis sold off Thursday, joining bond markets and equities in a rout after the Fed signaled that interest rates would be higher for longer. The Federal Open Market Committee held rates steady Wednesday, as expected, but signaled another hike this year. Munis were steady Wednesday but triple-A yields were cut eight to 16 basis points

The jury is still out on San Francisco’s fiscal health, though the tech layoffs didn’t appear to be the death knell that was predicted. The city’s outlook was revised to negative by Moody’s Investors Service in July with analysts citing outyear deficits projected through 2028 and expectations it would draw on reserves in fiscal 2023

Municipals were steady Wednesday as U.S. Treasuries were mixed fiollowing the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates. Equities ended the trading session down. As was expected, the FOMC held rates in a range between 5.25% and 5.50%, but the dot plot in the Summary of Economic Projections showed 12 of 19 members expect another 25-basis-point

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board now includes hourly updates from Bloomberg’s BVAL AAA Municipal Curve on its EMMA online system, a move the board says seeks to enhance transparency for investors, issuers and market participants. The updated site now shows BVAL AAA Municipal Curve updates hourly between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern, in addition

Municipals were weaker Tuesday as triple-A yields rose in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. Equities ended the session down ahead of the close of the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting Wednesday. Triple-A yields were cut two to seven basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose four to six basis points, pushing the two-,

Jena Watson, formerly of HomeStreet Bank, has joined ArentFox Schiff as a partner. Watson, who is based in the San Francisco office, will work in the firm’s Real Estate and Municipal Bond practices. She has nearly 30 years of experience managing project and municipal finance and commercial real estate transactions, including 10 years in senior

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has suspended his state’s gasoline tax for one month as prices at the pump continue to increase. Kemp cited high fuel costs and persistent inflation when he declared a legal state of emergency last week and signed an executive order suspending Georgia’s 31.2 cents-per-gallon tax on gas and 35-cents-per-gallon tax on

The Texas Water Development Board is planning a $1 billion bond sale next week to finance water-related projects for local governments as the drought-prone state awaits a November vote on a constitutional amendment to further support water supply infrastructure. The State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas revenue bonds are scheduled to price Sept. 27

Guam Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero let a Senate-passed $1.168 billion budget go into law without her signature, despite her concerns about use of a rainy-day fund, executive branch appropriation and “phantom” revenues. The Senate passed the budget on Aug. 30, with nine Democrats voting in favor and six Republicans voting against. Leon Guerrero, a Democrat,

Municipals were a touch weaker to close out the week ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar and the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. U.S. Treasuries closed out weaker while equities were in the red. Triple-A yields rose one to three basis points, depending on the curve, while USTs rose three to four. The two-year muni-to-Treasury

Port and shipping industry experts discussed the past and future of New York and New Jersey’s ports at an event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York this month. The “Ports of Tomorrow” event was carried out in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Regional Plan

As the appropriations tug of war goes back and forth in Congress, municipalities are concerned about a wide range of federally-supported infrastructure projects which might end up on the chopping block. The National Association of Counties is already ringing a warning bell via a letter addressed to both chambers of Congress imploring the need  to “prioritize federal

For a market anchored by self-regulation and tax-exemption, creeping regulation and political crossfire are nothing new, but also show no sign of abating — look no further than the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “regulation by enforcement” and the hyper-politicization of environmental, social and governance investing factors. That’s the message from a group of municipal market

The Department of the Treasury has been handed another loss in its multi-state battle to uphold the American Rescue Plan’s Offset Provision, the statute that bars states from using federal coronavirus funds directly or indirectly for tax cuts, after judges in the Eleventh Circuit declined to review its previous decision handed down in January. That’s

Municipals were little changed Thursday as U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities rallied. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Thursday was at 63%, the three-year was at 64%, the five-year at 66%, the 10-year at 70% and the 30-year at 90%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. read. ICE Data Services had the two-year at 64%, the