Bonds

Municipals were steady to weaker in spots Monday, while U.S. Treasuries sold off amid Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell warning about widespread inflation and talks over hiking interest rates quicker than the Fed initially planned last week. As a result, muni-to-UST ratios fell. The five-year was at 72%, 85% in 10-years and 92% in

The U.S. Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates higher than officials are currently projecting if it is to wrestle inflation back under control, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said. While the central bank this week increased its benchmark rate by 25 basis points for the first time since 2018 and saw the

Investors in municipal bonds should take into account that rising interest rates this year could lead bonds trading at a discount to be less liquid than those trading at par value, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board warned Friday. Investors should also monitor their portfolios for bonds falling to a significant discount price, according to the

DPC DATA has integrated climate and social risk scores into a product that uses Spatial Risk Systems’ (SRS) geospatial data, mapping physical climate risk and carbon transition risk for more than 25,000 muni obligors. MuniESG Solutions was created in response to demand from DPC’s clients for climate risk data as the key component of a

California’s revenues for the first eight months of the fiscal year are $17.53 billion above projections included in the governor’s proposed budget in January, according to the Department of Finance. The state won’t know until May when Gov. Gavin Newsom releases his revised budget proposal if that alters the amount of the massive $45.7 billion

A restructuring deal for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority will not include any mediators who participated in the central government’s plan of adjustment while the Oversight Board doubled-down on excluding the local legislature in negotiating a new PREPA restructuring plan. Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain said in a court filing on Thursday

Municipals were steady to firmer in spots Friday with decent two-way flow in the secondary but a quieter session overall after weeks of major volatility led by geopolitical turmoil and central bank policy uncertainty. Markets were generally calmer in a post-rate hike environment with clearer signals from the Fed for its plans going forward. Short

The COVID-19 pandemic stung not-for-profit hospital balance sheets hard in January amid the omicron surge and while those strains have eased, challenges persist as hospitals navigate a growing shift away from in-hospital care. The fiscal damage from the highly contagious omicron variant put a dent in margins, which sunk for the time in 11 months.

Municipal yields fell on Thursday for the first time since March 1 as buyers emerged, while U.S. Treasuries rose out longer and equities improved again a day after the Fed’s first rate hike. Trading was stronger out of the gates, with large blocks of high-grades changing hands at stronger levels. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped

Puerto Rico’s Plan of Adjustment went into effect Tuesday as did the restructuring of $33 billion of bonds, with bondholders and bond insurers beginning to receive the newly restructured bonds and trading starting in earnest. Puerto Rico completed the exchange of more than $33 billion of existing bonds and other claims into $7 billion of

Helping small local governments win a piece of the new infrastructure money has become a theme of federal officials, which White House Advisor Mitch Landrieu echoed Tuesday at the National League of Cities annual Congressional Cities Conference. “We need to find a way to work together to make sure small towns and communities have technical

Triple-A yields rose further Tuesday with four to six basis point cuts across the yield curve following along U.S. Treasuries while equities rallied. Municipal to UST ratios showed the five-year at to 80%, 92% in 10-years and 96% in 30, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. read. ICE Data Services had the five at 79%,

As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, Florida’s economy is recovering quickly while its job picture has improved, but several threats to its economic health have appeared on the horizon. On Monday, the state Legislature approved a record $112.1 billion budget for fiscal 2022-2023 that includes tax cuts for residents, pay raises for state employees and a

Comments on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s second request for comment on its draft solicitor muni advisor rule highlight concerns over recordkeeping expectations, harmonization with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Pay-to Play” rule and whether oral or written disclosures are the most effective for municipal advisors. The board received comments from The Securities Industry and

WASHINGTON — Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Biden’s pick for vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve, has taken herself out of the running for the position. Raskin submitted a letter to the White House on Tuesday saying she would step aside so the politically gridlocked Senate Banking Committee would move forward with the Biden

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board is working on a Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority restructuring deal that will avoid local government involvement, a board member said. Board Member Justin Peterson said Wednesday the new deal will be created without local government involvement and will not require local legislation. Peterson also told The Bond Buyer the

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Crosby Independent School District in Texas and its former chief financial officer Carla Merka with misleading investors in a $20 million municipal bond sale, in addition to charging district auditor Shelby Lackey with improper professional conduct in the district’s 2017 fiscal year financial statements. Crosby ISD has agreed

After the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time since 2018 and said it would raise them six more times this year, U.S. Treasury yields continued to rise, while munis were relatively stable and equities rallied to close the session. Municipal to UST ratios showed the five-year at 76%, 90% in 10-years and

Political corruption taints the reputations of Chicago and Illinois and may influence decisions by businesses and voters at the polls, but it’s harder to measure the indirect toll on ratings, borrowing costs, and population trends. While federal authorities in recent decades have nabbed several dozen city and state officials including two past governors, the high

The omicron variant of COVID-19 overshadowed expectations that California lawmakers could spend this budget year focused on how to spend an anticipated $26.6 billion surplus as Gov. Gavin Newsom released his proposed $286.4 billion fiscal 2023 budget. In a Saturday preview ahead of his Monday budget press conference, Newsom asked lawmakers to immediately approve $1.4