Bonds

Municipals were very lightly traded and little changed Monday, starting off the final two holiday-shortened weeks of 2021 with paltry supply and lightly staffed desks. The U.S. Treasury curve steepened with the long end weaker and equities sold off on continued COVID-19 concerns. The entire muni AAA curve has been stable for two weeks and

Municipals were better on the short end while the U.S. Treasury curve flattened and the Dow Jones and S&P 500 sold off and the Nasdaq ended in the black. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped by a basis point on bonds five years and in. Ratios were slightly lower on the five-year ratio at 50%, 73% in

The Miami-Dade County Seaport Department won The Bond Buyer’s 20th annual Deal of the Year award for PortMiami’s $1.24 billion seaport revenue refunding bonds. PortMiami is the largest cruise port in the world and a large containerized cargo port. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, PortMiami cruise operations were suspended for nearly 16 months.

Municipals held steady Thursday, keeping to a theme that the market remains unlikely to take movements in U.S. Treasuries and equities into account for the asset class, as issuance fades and year-end approaches. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed while Treasuries improved and equities saw losses, led by tech stocks. Ratios were slightly higher with the

Well before the pandemic drove online adoption, the consumer shift toward a digital, personalized banking experience was on an upward trend. For financial institutions looking to capture the millennial and Gen Z demographic, it’s increasingly important to rethink card member acquisition approaches and prioritize automated, hyper-personalized programs. In this Arizent Leaders forum interview with American

Municipals were lightly traded and ignored moves to higher yields in U.S. Treasuries Wednesday while equities rallied after the Federal Open Market Committee doubled the speed of its taper and projected three rate hikes in 2022. “It would seem that today’s decision was a first move by the Fed to restore its credibility as an

Eight states including Illinois and New York with unemployment trust loans owed to the federal government called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to reinstate an expired waiver on interest to buy more time to resolve the debts. The interest waiver expired Sept. 6 and states with remaining balances are now paying 2.27% interest on what’s

It was Groundhog Day for municipals as triple-A benchmark yields held steady on Tuesday while Treasuries were weaker and equities sold off. Triple-A yield curves were unchanged on the day and mostly have not budged but a basis point in spots since the end of November. Most generic benchmark curves have remained static all month

Munis started off quiet this week ahead of some big deals on tap, with new issuance totaling nearly $8 billion. Triple-A yield curves were little changed on the day while U.S. Treasuries were stronger. Ratios were slightly higher with the five-year muni-to-UST ratio at 49% in five years, 72% in 10 and 82% in 30,

Judge Laura Taylor Swain will decide whether the Puerto Rico local government has the right to advocate pension positions to the bankruptcy court. The Oversight Board’s proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law for the debt deal was challenged by Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority. The board the claimed the FAFAA

The U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority sold $35 million of bond anticipation notes at a high yield of 7% for tax-exempt notes and 9% for taxable notes. WAPA closed the deal the week of Nov. 29. High-yield investment giant Nuveen bought the $34.5 million of tax-exempt BANs and $500,000 of taxable BANs via

Quincy, Massachusetts, is planning a $475 million pension obligation bond sale for Tuesday that is projected to fully fund its retirement system. City officials say they are getting out front of a state directive for its municipalities to reach full pension funding by 2037 and borrowing while interest rates are still low. Ramirez & Co.

Chicago wrapped up the pricing on $1.45 billion of refinancing bonds Thursday after structural tweaks and a $1 billion tender and exchange allowed the city to scale back on the deal’s size and still meet a $250 million savings target. A look at the 10-year in the tax-exempt pieces showed spreads narrowed sharply from the

Municipal bonds were steady for the eighth straight session Friday as U.S. Treasuries were slightly better and stocks rose after Consumer Price Index data came as expected, though the highest since 1982. “U.S. stocks rallied after the latest inflation report did not come in as hot as many were expecting. Wall Street did not see

Turmoil at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, including a former general manager’s guilty plea to felony bribery, should not affect its Kroll Bond Rating Agency ratings. LADWP holds Kroll’s AA-plus rating on its water system revenue bonds and AA on its power system revenue bonds. The outlook on both ratings is stable.

Amid rising prices, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, governments are increasingly eying so-called progressive development agreements, or PDAs, as a way to minimize uncertainties as they embark on complex infrastructure projects. The move can reduce risks and costs and deliver a project faster, said Moody’s Investors Service analyst John Medina. “Construction costs are very

Municipal yields held steady for the seventh session in a row in light trading Thursday as the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York’s $2.5 billion of competitive loans were the focus while U.S. Treasuries made gains and equities were mixed on heightened Omicron concerns. Triple-A yield curves were little changed on the day

Intercontinental Exchange continues its expansion into the municipal market, announcing Thursday it has acquired risQ and Level 11, two climate-change focused technology firms, to manage climate change risk and grow ICE’s alternative data capabilities in U.S. fixed income markets. ICE also announced leadership changes this week, naming Lynn Martin president of the New York Stock

Secondary trading saw an uptick and some pressures emerged on munis, but benchmark yield curves were little changed to weaker by a basis point in spots, again outperforming taxables. U.S. Treasuries slid further with the largest rise in yields on the long bond, and equities made gains after a mixed open. ICE Data Services and

A Securities and Exchange Commission staff statement issued Tuesday reiterates disclosure and fiduciary obligations of issuers and underwriters in light of the forthcoming transition away from Libor. And while those obligations are important, some municipal industry practitioners point to an already existing trend away from Libor-linked transactions. Earlier this year, Libor’s regulator, the Financial Conduct