Bonds

Underwriting spreads for all bonds surged in the first half of 2024, rising above $7 for the first time in 25 years. Underwriting spreads rose to $7.11 in the first half of 2024 from $3.70 in the first half of 2023. Spreads on negotiated bonds rose to $6.55 in 1H 2024 from $3.78 in 1H

Municipal bonds improved Wednesday as attention turned to the primary market with Chicago coming off the sidelines to price its delayed general obligation bond deal along with deals from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the Las Vegas Valley Water Department. U.S. Treasuries and equities closed the session mixed following

California Republican Rep. Mike Garcia last week unveiled a bill that would block federal funds for the state’s controversial high-speed rail project. “After 15 years and billions of your hard-earned tax dollars spent, California’s high-speed rail has delivered zero results,” said Garcia in a statement announcing H.R. 9308, the No Frankenrail Act. “This so-called high-speed rail

Municipals were mostly steady Monday after a week of market volatility, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were mixed at the close. Market participants are sitting back ahead of the week’s economic indicators, led by the Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index reports on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. “The Treasury market may get

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. pegged losses from estimated accrual of liabilities stemming from one of the worst wildfires in US history at $1.7 billion and issued a going-concern warning.  Hawaiian Electric said Aug. 2 that it had agreed to pay almost $2 billion as part of a $4 billion settlement to resolve hundreds of lawsuits

A proposed constitutional amendment on Colorado’s Nov. 5 ballot aimed at curbing property taxes would roil municipal financing in the state and harm metropolitan districts in particular, by boosting borrowing costs and sparking litigation, according to bond dealers and attorneys. Initiative 50, a proposed constitutional amendment that requires a 55% majority vote for passage, would

The Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) passed by Congress in December 2022 mandated the use of a common, non-proprietary legal entity identifier for municipal issuers. Although Congress’ legislative intent continues to be a matter of debate, we argue that any implementation of this new mandate will have to satisfy a basic market need: the correct

The Wayne State University Board of Governors will return to market with $31.8 million of Series 2024A general revenue refunding bonds. Proceeds of the deal, scheduled to price Aug. 21, will be used to refund a portion of the Detroit-based school’s outstanding Series 2015A general revenue and refunding bonds.  The new deal arrives with Wayne

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport will head to the municipal bond market next week with a $750 million deal boosted by a rating upgrade and an outlook revision to positive. S&P Global Ratings raised its rating to AA-minus from A-plus, citing the airport’s “relatively” strong enplanements, history of financial resiliency, and stable debt service coverage. The

Municipal yields fell Tuesday as the primary kicked into gear, while munis underperformed an improved U.S. Treasury market as equities rallied after inflation data came in softer than expected. Triple-A municipal curves saw bumps of two to four basis points with the better performance on the short end while Treasuries improved by four to eight

Seven months after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing and trading of several spot bitcoin exchange-traded product shares, a number of Midwest public pension funds are dabbling in cryptocurrency and crypto company investments. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages the assets of the Wisconsin Retirement System, recently invested roughly $188 million

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the state of Missouri laid out their arguments in court Tuesday in a lawsuit over the state’s year-old environmental, social and governance investment rules.   Judge Stephen Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri peppered the parties with questions, often based on his

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on Arizona’s AA issuer rating to positive from stable, citing the state’s “robust” economic growth, as well as its financial management. The move points to an expectation of a one-in-three chance of a rating upgrade over the next two years, according to the rating agency.  Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s amendments to Rule G-47 on time of trade disclosure, adding three disclosure scenarios, retiring some existing guidance and clarifying some supplemental information. The amendments were filed with the Commission in April and the amendments themselves were discussed and approved at the MSRB’s quarterly

In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent reversal of the so-called Chevron doctrine, House Republican leaders Wednesday launched a review of the Biden administration’s environmental, social and governance agency regulations. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent letters this

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of another large new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasury yields fell further and equities ended higher. A “relatively difficult start to the year” was expected, “as Treasury yields were too low, market participants were too optimistic about the number of rate cuts this year, and muni ratios were near their multi-year

The looming 2028 Olympics and the specter of crime took center stage at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s state of the agency event this week. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass handed off the gavel and her title as Metro chair to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn during Wednesday’s event held at Union

Officials in East St. Louis, Illinois, have sued the local police and firefighter pension boards and the state comptroller to block the use of a law allowing the comptroller to intercept state funds going to the city and redirect them to pension payments. According to the Belleville News-Democrat, the city is challenging the law’s legitimacy

Miami-Dade County will bring nearly a billion dollars of aviation revenue refunding bonds for Miami International Airport in a deal supported by growing passenger and freight demand. Pricing is preliminarily scheduled for Tuesday on $782.4 million of Series 2024A bonds subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax and $141.4 million of Series 2024B bonds not subject

Municipals were mixed in secondary trading Wednesday as the primary market took focus, led by a $1.2 billion deal in three series from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly and equities ended up. Thursday’s consumer price index report is the “event of the week,” said Cooper Howard,