Bonds

State tax revenue collections are softening and some are even negative compared to a year earlier, analysts say. “Most states are now grappling with weakened tax revenues and growing uncertainties, particularly related to the presidential election, potential federal policy changes, and geopolitical crises,” said Urban Institute Principal Research Associate Lucy Dadayan. “Overall, growth in state

An effort by Utah lawmakers to keep a coal-fired power plant in operation poses risks to the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA), which issued bonds to finance its transition to cleaner fuels and has asked the governor to veto the legislation.   Senate Bill 161, which was passed by the legislature in late February would require IPA

The municipal primary market was active Tuesday while triple-A scales were little moved despite U.S. Treasury gains ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusion Wednesday. Various large new-issues were well-received and cleared the market Tuesday, with several repricing to lower yields. Despite several larger deals entering the primary, the large amounts of cash

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s new climate rule will hack away at the SEC’s already well-established materiality standard and will mandate disclosure rules that work for Wall Street banks but have little relevance to many public companies across the country. That’s according to local leaders from Tennessee testifying during the House Financial Services Subcommittee on

The number of Federal Reserve rate cuts expected this year has dwindled and the first one isn’t likely before June, analyst said, as inflation numbers continue to come in hotter-than-expected. While the market was initially expecting six or seven 25 basis point cuts this year, Gary Quinzel, vice president of portfolio consulting at Wealth Enhancement

Assured Guaranty has promoted two of its employees and brought on a former Citi employee to grow its new-issue and secondary market business. Marc Livolsi will now act as the firm’s U.S. Public Finance New Issue Marketing and Business Development, and Evan Boulukos will lead Assured’s Secondary Markets desk, both of whom will report to

Dealers are stepping up lobbying efforts and bringing the Municipal Bonds for America Coalition, a group headed by Bond Dealers of America, back into view as the tax debate begins again. The coalition, comprising investors, underwriters, municipal advisors, insurers and bond counsel has pounced on the idea of tax reform after President Biden made tax

Property insurers’ growing reluctance to insure homes exposed to severe weather should raise a red flag for the municipal bond market, which so far has shrugged off risks but will soon have to grapple with major climate-driven shifts in credit quality and bond prices. That’s according to panelists who spoke Thursday during a webinar titled

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board held the first of its two stakeholder meetings on Thursday, gathering trade groups representing the professionals from which the board derives its fees to discuss its now abandoned rate card model, the volatility of its fees and how many of its fees and expenses are allocated. According to both members

Houston will end its eight-year-long impasse with its firefighters union under a $650 million settlement financed through the issuance of judgment bonds, Mayor John Whitmire announced Thursday. The agreement provides lump sum payments to current and retired firefighters to cover back wages owed while they worked without a contract since the last one expired in

Rich valuations 10-years and in, municipal outperformance to U.S. Treasuries and an overall drumbeat that supply is not meeting demand — yet cash sits sidelined — was the theme for the week. All else being equal, expectations for more of the same will greet the market next week, along with several New York credits and

Hawaii Department of Transportation airport division revenue bond ratings and bonds issued by the state backed by car rental fees were upgraded by Fitch Ratings, which cited full recovery on enplanements. Fitch upgraded the airport’s $1.7 billion in revenue bonds to AA-minus from A-plus and $111.6 million in certificates of participation to A-plus from A

Municipals were weaker Thursday, but outperformed U.S. Treasury market losses, as the final large deals of the week priced, including several housing issues. Equities ended down. Municipal bond mutual fund inflows continued for the third consecutive week as LSEG Lipper reported investors put $295.5 million into the funds for the week ending Wednesday with high-yield

In the Closing Remarks of a Compliance Conference on Dec. 7, the Director of the Office of Municipal Securities of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission noted the SEC recently finalized its cybersecurity rule for public companies. The Director then suggested that “everyone take a minute to review the Adopting Release for the rule because

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as two billion-dollar-plus deals from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and CommonSpirit Health took focus. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 59%, the three-year at 59%, the five-year at 57%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year

Chicago plans to issue $80.865 million of senior lien airport revenue refunding bonds for Midway International Airport in a deal that would replace variable-rate debt and associated swaps with fixed-rate bonds. The pricing date is flexible, said city of Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski. “The Midway deal is day to day,” Jaworski said, adding

Munis were steady as the primary market took focus with the $2.8 billion retail pricing from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities rallied after the Consumer Price Index showed inflation ticked up in February. Bond yields didn’t move much upon the CPI release, but Treasuries grew

A yearend rally led to ownership growth by most sectors in the fourth quarter fueled by a surge in retail, separately managed account buying and an uptick in institutional holdings, while year-over-year data shows the continued trend of dwindling bank holdings and dramatic drops in overall ownership by life and property and casualty insurance companies

The National Football League’s Chicago Bears are pursuing plans to build a publicly owned domed stadium in Chicago, boosted by $2 billion of private funds.  The team has changed course after chasing a planned stadium development in Arlington Heights, a northwest suburb of Chicago, where talks were bogged down amid disagreements with three area school

Issuers that have refunded outstanding Build America Bonds or have plans to do so using an extraordinary redemption provision may have legal backing, regardless of whether bondholders are “unhappy” with the deals, according to the largest bond counsel in the industry. Chas Cardall, a tax partner at Orrick, the bond counsel that worked on the