Month: January 2024

When Fitch Ratings this month downgraded Marshfield Clinic Health System, a nonprofit group of 11 hospitals based in central Wisconsin, to BBB from BBB-plus, it cited operating losses due in part to wage pressures from reliance on contract nurses and temporary physicians.  The downgrade applied both to Marshfield’s issuer rating and the revenue bonds issued

Municipals were slightly firmer Tuesday as new-issues from the New York Thruway Authority and the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency’s Children’s Hospital were well-received. U.S. Treasuries were mixed as were equities ahead of the Fed rates decision Wednesday. Triple-A yields were bumped one to four basis points, depending on the curve, while UST saw yields fall

An Arizona state senator is once again attempting to pass a law banning governmental contracts with companies, including banks that underwrite municipal bonds, that “discriminate” against the firearm industry.  For the 2024 legislative session, Republican Frank Carroll introduced legislation that would take the question to voters, bypassing Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who vetoed his bill

Municipals were little changed to start the week, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were up late in the trading session. The muni market enters 2024 with “stable credit fundamentals, supportive demand/supply dynamics, and low [muni-UST] ratios and compressed credit spreads,” said Adam Stern, co-head of research at Breckinridge. On the technical front, he

The use of premium bonds has ignited a dispute between Vermont’s most populous city and the state auditor. The state auditor found that the city of Burlington issued more debt than it was approved for under the state’s tax increment financing law and made more than a million dollars of accounting errors. The city’s Downtown

Market participants are upbeat with predictions about an economy showing few signs of recession, a record-breaking stock market and a Federal Reserve that is expected to start ratcheting down interest rates.  Fresh economic data showing gross domestic product growing by an annual rate of 3.3% has bond issuers and ratings agency forecasters feeling bullish about

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has approved amendments to Rule G-27 on dealer supervision that are designed to help dealers better adapt to changes brought on by remote work. That was approved during the MSRB’s quarterly board meeting, where the board welcomed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler in attendance for his yearly visit,

The list of investment banks no longer eligible to underwrite municipal bonds in Texas due to their lack of compliance with state laws aimed at protecting the fossil fuel and firearm industries grew on Friday with the addition of Barclays.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced that “until further notice, we will not approve

After two consecutive years of investors pulling money from muni mutual funds, January has gotten off to a better start as the market has seen the return on inflows.  “The driver of the improvement in net fund flows is not necessarily new buyers coming into the market; it’s the conclusion of tax loss swap selling

Municipals were lightly traded and little changed Friday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar amid the Federal Open Market Committee meeting while U.S. Treasuries were weaker. Equities were mixed to close the session. Rates have continued creeping higher and muni yields have been following, as the “positive effect of the year-end technicals has finally started