Bonds

After a year of disruption in wealth management — widespread working from home, virtual meetings between financial advisors and their clients, volatility in the stock market — the world will hopefully begin recovering later this year. Many of the trends the pandemic in finance accelerated may be here to stay. Catherine Keating brings us her

With the clock ticking on the deadline to pass a state budget, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker removed one contentious issue from the table by agreeing to fund a scheduled $350 million increase in school aid. In fiscal 2021, Pritzker had bypassed the scheduled $350 million annual increase required under the evidence-based formula adopted in 2017

FINRA, in an Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC), recently settled an action with NatAlliance Securities for violations of MSRB Rule G-13, G-17 and G-27. The settlement of a matter involving G-13 is the first time a firm has been charged with violating that rule since 2003 and left some wondering if FINRA was using enforcement

Municipals were little changed on a sparsely traded Monday as U.S. Treasuries showed some weakness but participants await the week’s diverse primary, which should keep rates steady as reinvestment needs tick up. The new-issue market continues to show strong and welcoming reception as supply remains manageable and reinvestment needs are about to intensify for a

Bond issuers in Montana and Texas have separately reported an adverse impact on the tax-exempt status of their bonds in new public disclosures with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. In Texas, the MSRB filing involved Series 2015 El Paso County General Obligation Refunding Bonds. The Internal Revenue Service sent a letter dated April 28 informing

The last financer of a controversial prison offering in Alabama has abandoned the plan, leaving the fate of the new facilities in doubt. A spokesperson for Alabama was not immediately available. Stifel announced Monday it is no longer involved with any of the parties in the bond offering that had been planned by the state.

Despite several false starts in recent years, municipal market advocates as well as business and labor leaders believe the stars are aligning for an opportunity to pass meaningful infrastructure legislation that may include top muni priorities. Prominent voices supportive of infrastructure investment are striking their most optimistic tones in years to kick off infrastructure week

Why are some places tech hubs rather than others? One reason is the magnetic pull of universities and their innovative research. In this Leaders talk, Juliet Weissman, the Chief Administrative Officer of New York City’s Cornell Tech campus, discusses how the university’s urban location, at a new Roosevelt Island location opened in 2017, brings together

The key benchmark that the Federal Reserve targets to control monetary policy dropped for the first time this month, dragged down as growing imbalances in the Treasury-bill market weigh on short-term dollar rates. The effective fed funds rate, which the central bank is currently aiming to keep within a range of 0% to 0.25%, slipped

Passage of a Senate water bill authorizing billions in low-interest loans gets the ball rolling ahead of infrastructure discussions later this year. Thursday afternoon the full Senate passed the $35 billion Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 by a vote of 89-2. That bill is expected to go to conference committee to work

Signs of excess risk taking in financial markets show it’s time for the U.S. central bank to start debating a reduction in its massive bond purchases, said the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve, breaking ranks with Chair Jerome Powell. “We’re now at a point where I’m observing excesses and imbalances in financial markets,” said

New-money volume growth nearly tripled that of refunding volume in April, as issuers refunded less and played catch-up, issuing new paper in a better credit environment spurred by federal aid. Municipal issuance increased 6.2% in April year-over-year, starting the second quarter with $33.65 billion across 940 transactions, up from the $31.69 billion in 919 deals

Municipals ended the week and the month quietly as participants prepare for a supply and redemption increase in May, but even with some pressure felt this week, tailwinds remain for the market. Rates rose this week by as much as six basis points on the 10-year, but on Friday, the benchmark remained below 1%. Given

The North Texas Tollway Authority plans to keep its winning streak alive with $850 million of refunding amid rebounding toll revenues. The authority, which operates hundreds of miles of toll roads in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, reports saving more than $1 billion through refunding $7 billion of debt since 2013. “This transaction allows us to

Munis lost ground Thursday with two to four basis point cuts to triple-A benchmark yields after U.S. Treasuries weakened with better economic data pouring in as the month closes out. Cash flowed into municipal bond mutual funds again at $1.64 billion with high-yield making up $630 million of it, as investors fearing rising taxes. Fund

Sources anticipate muni enforcement to hold steady as Melissa Hodgman returns to her acting role to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division following an abrupt resignation by the newly-named enforcement director pick. Sources said pick Alex Oh’s resignation for personal reasons was surprising, but expect the acting chair to hold municipal bond enforcement

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said Wednesday that consideration of a broad range of revenue bond issues as part of Puerto Rico’s Title III bankruptcy should be delayed for several months. Swain, who is overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings, said this as part of an oral ruling against the Puerto Rico Oversight Board and the

President Joe Biden, who has an opportunity to reshape the leadership of the Federal Reserve over the next 10 months, is being urged by activists to make potentially significant changes at the U.S. central bank. Fed Up, an advocacy campaign organized by the Center For Popular Democracy in Washington, said in a position paper released

The U.S. Census released a population figure for Puerto Rico that revealed the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s population assumption to be too pessimistic. On Tuesday the Census Bureau reported Puerto Rico’s population on April 1, 2020 at 3.29 million. In the fiscal plan the board approved Friday, the board estimated the island’s population to be

Movement of goods through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s maritime and air facilities is still vital to the region’s and nation’s economy. The region’s exports, however, increasingly link to information-based services, according to a study by the Rudin Center for Transportation at New York University’s Transportation Robert F. Wagner Graduate School