Bonds

California headlined the top 10 issuers in the first three quarters of 2023. Three new issuers entered the top 10 — Main Street Natural Gas, the California Community Choice Finance Authority and the Texas Natural Gas Securitization Finance Corp. — as Massachusetts, the Louisiana Local Government Environmental Facilities and Community Development Authority and the New

The top municipal underwriters accounted for $265.047 billion in 5,383 issues in the first three quarters of 2023, down from $291.908 billion in 6,417 transactions over the same time period in 2022. BofA Securities remained in the top spot despite accounting for less par and a smaller market share than in 2022. Minor shuffling among

Of the $227.938 billion of par issued, municipal financial advisors saw $227.626 billion of business in 4,134 transactions in Q1-Q3 in 2023. This is down from the $249.137 billion in 4,820 deals over the same time period in 2022, out of a total of $249.168 billion. RBC Capital Markets and Caine Mitter & Associates moved

The muni market may be several years away from fully integrating artificial intelligence, but firms are taking small steps already. “AI is a big deal if you want to personalize your approach, differentiate your products,” James Pruskowski, chief investment officer of 16Rock Asset Management, said during MuniTech NYC, a conference hosted by Munichain and Spline

The largest health-care strike in U.S. history hit Kaiser Permanente Wednesday, putting investors who buy and sell hospital bonds on edge as an industry that’s already experienced more than its share of distress struggles to stabilize financially. Kaiser has almost $4 billion in outstanding municipal-bond debt, according to Bloomberg data, including $1 billion in so-called

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is leading a state delegation to Japan next week to attend the Southeastern United States/Japan (SEUS/Japan) economic development conference in Tokyo. The trip, from Oct. 11 to 15, aims to entice businesses to move to the state. The delegation will also meet with officials and business leaders. “Japan is a

Municipals were weaker along with U.S. Treasuries Friday following better-than-expected jobs data while equities rallied on the data. The September non-farm payrolls report dashed any suggestions that the labor market is weakening, but analysts still debate whether the Federal Reserve will need to raise rates again. In addition to 336,000 jobs being created in the

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Peter Hayes, one of the most well-known and influential people in the municipal bond industry, plans to relax and enjoy life with his family and friends after he retires early next year. “I’ll be 65 next year — and I didn’t think

Municipals were steady Thursday while the final large deals of the week priced in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were mostly firmer and equities were in the red ahead of the Friday payrolls data release. “The last labor market reading before the [non-farm payrolls] report provided another reminder that the labor market is still strong,” said

Connecticut Green Bank launched its eighth sale of Green Liberty Notes, seeking up to $350,000 for a state-wide small business energy loan program. The one-year notes are on sale through October 26 on Green Bank’s online platform, offered through its subsidiary CGB Green Liberty Notes LLC. They feature a 5.25% interest rate and, with buy-in

An attorney for a Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders group raised concerns Wednesday about an Oversight Board mailing to bondholders asking them to support its plan of adjustment, which would result in them getting a better deal than non-supporting bondholders. PREPA Ad Hoc Group attorney Eric Brunstad Jr. said at Wednesday’s Puerto Rico omnibus

The abrupt ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the battle for his former position now underway carry little direct or immediate effect on the municipal market, but participants agree that the repercussions tilt negative for everyone from issuers to investors and bankers. With the ink barely dry on Saturday’s continuing resolution to keep the

Munis were weaker Tuesday, but outperformed a U.S. Treasury selloff. Equities sold off as well. Triple-A yields rose anywhere from two to eight basis points while UST saw yields rise by as much as 13 basis points out long. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 72%, the three-year was at 72%, the five-year at

The agency that manages Chicago’s convention center campus wades into the market this week with a deal that continues its trend of pushing off looming bond payments to manage a persistent mismatch between its revenues and its debt service schedule. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority of Illinois is set to price $56.2 million of

A group of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders opposed to the Oversight Board’s proposed plan of adjustment identified its members Wednesday. The new faction, called the PREPA Ad Hoc Group, holds $2.1 billion in uninsured PREPA bonds and hundreds of millions of dollars more in insured bonds. $8.5 billion of PREPA bonds were outstanding

Many muni market thought leaders were caught off guard by the weekend congressional action that averted a government shutdown by way of enlisting help from House Democrats. “I was surprised,” said Brett Bolton,  V.P., federal legislative and regulatory policy, Bond Dealers of America. “Not surprised that the Speaker took the measure he took, but waiting to

A pair of Texas Congressmen are urging the Federal Railroad Administration to reject joint grant applications by Amtrak and railroad company Texas Central to build high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston. Republicans Rep. Jake Ellzey and Rep. Michael McCaul sent a Sept. 28 letter to the FRA outlining their opposition to the controversial project. The

California Democratic leaders are asking the state Supreme Court to remove a business-backed measure from the November ballot that would require voter approval for any increase in state or local taxes. Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, filed an emergency petition with the state Supreme Court Tuesday

September municipal bond issuance rose slightly year-over-year, becoming the first month of 2023 to see supply increase from 2022 levels, as several billion-dollar deals were priced and a general market acceptance of the Fed’s ‘higher for longer’ stance took hold. Led by tax-exempt, new-money deals, September’s total volume ticked up 1.2% to $27.585 billion in

After selling off for a week and a half, munis ended Friday’s session firmer, but September losses moved the asset class into the red for the year, returning -1.79%. “September and to a lesser degree October have not been kind to municipal investors in recent history, with average returns of -5.7% and -1.8%, respectively, going