Bonds

Bond traders have overestimated month-over-month headline inflation heading into four of the last seven Consumer Price Index releases, says Citigroup strategist Raghav Datla.Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg Bond traders are underestimating how much Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index report will show the inflation rate dropped last month, according to Citigroup Inc. strategist Raghav Datla. Datla’s assessment is partly based

Municipals were steady ahead of this week’s consumer price index print and Federal Open Market Committee meeting. U.S. Treasuries were slightly firmer on the front end and equities were up near the close. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Monday was at 64%, the three-year at 67%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 69% and the

Deploying greater use of bond financing to cure the county’s affordable housing shortage is getting a fresh look in the Senate via the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act. The bill, which was introduced Tuesday, is cosponsored by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. and Bill Cassidy, R-La. The legislation takes aim at expanding the use of mortgage

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority approved a $2.72 billion fiscal year 2024 budget that features $174 million in new spending amid declining revenues and expectations of a budget shortfall. The MBTA executive board voted unanimously on Thursday to approve the plan and a 7% bump in year-over-year spending amid predictions for a 10% dip in

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar, outperforming a weaker U.S. Treasury market for another session. Equities ended up. Triple-A yields were mostly flat while UST yields rose up to nine basis points on the front end, pushing muni to UST ratios there lower. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Friday was at

A lawyer for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders argued Thursday that if a receiver had been in place early on in the PREPA bankruptcy process, they would have controlled him or her and therefore raised rates to repay bonds in full. Assured Guaranty Attorney Mark Ellenberg argued that to be the case in

Changes to Illinois state pension benefits that may be needed to comply with federal Social Security rules carry an estimated $5.6 billion tab through 2045, according to an actuarial study published this week. State employees hired after 2010 get lower pension benefits than those hired before. Pension experts have long warned the Tier 2 benefits

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has introduced the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding over the next five years, expanding the Airport Improvement Program and including a number of improvements aimed at improving workforce and services of the aviation

Preston Hollow Community Capital and Nuveen expect to close next month on a deal giving Nuveen a stake in its smaller rival in the high-yield muni space. The investment featured prominently in a settlement ending PHCC’s four-year-old legal pursuit of Nuveen for using what one judge labeled as “lies” and “threats” to damage its access

Bond lawyer requests for clarifications on Internal Revenue Service rules affecting municipal finance are so far eliciting no answers from the IRS, leading the National Association of Bond Lawyers to send a letter to the agency requesting a response to some issues that date back to 2018.   The letter comes from NABL president Jodie Smith of Maynard Nexsen,

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders say they are owed $8.5 billion and the timeframe of being able to collect on their claim should continue in perpetuity. That was a central point of contention during Tuesday’s PREPA bond claim estimation hearing during which lawyers for the bondholders and the Oversight Board argued about what the

Fitch Ratings upgraded Jacksonville, Florida, utility JEA’s more than $1.2 billion of water and sewer system debt to AA-plus from AA. The elevated rating applies to $1 billion of water and sewer system senior revenue bonds; $185 million of subordinated revenue bonds; and $28 million of district energy bonds. The outlook is stable. The upgrades

House Republicans on Tuesday sharply criticized responses from the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury, taking the agencies to task for rate hikes that they said damaged the municipal and other markets, thwarted transparency, and cracked the banking system.     The comments came during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. The discussions included

Fresh off enacting a tax credit program tied to private school education, Oklahoma will directly fund a religious charter school — a move the state’s attorney general called unconstitutional and potentially costly for the state to defend. In a 3-2 vote Monday, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved an application from the Roman

The New York City Housing Development Corp. is coming to market this month with $891.75 million of bonds to help back construction of much-needed new housing projects in the city. The NYC HDC plans to issue $641.75 million of Series 2023A-1, 2023A-2 and 2022G multi-family housing revenue bonds not subject to the alternative minimum tax

An assisted-living complex for low-income senior residents in southern New Jersey has been struggling to make timely monthly loan payments. New Standard Senior Living said construction delays at its Village Drive campus in Millville has impeded its ability to lease units and choked its cash flow, according to a recent regulatory filing. While such holdups

Less than a month before New York City faces a deadline for a balanced budget agreement, Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council seem as far apart as ever over the need for either increased spending or more cuts. By law, the mayor and council must agree on a balanced budget by July 1. Last

Reinvestment needs will top new-issue supply by about $30 billion from June to August, which should boost the asset class after May’s atypical losses. Reinvestments, which includes maturities, called bonds and coupons, total over $114 billion over the next four months, according to ICE Data. While June often begins softer as investors assess how new-issue

AES Puerto Rico, a firm that supplies about 21% of the electricity transmitted by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, defaulted Thursday, missing an $18 million interest and principal payment on outstanding municipals it priced through a conduit in 2000. In a notice to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA site on Friday, AES Puerto

Struggling with declining enrollment, Oregon’s Portland State University had its outlook revised to negative by Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $193 million of outstanding debt. Enrollment declined by more than 20% over the past six years, and expectations of continued declines over the next four years at the downtown Portland university were cited by Moody’s in

Municipals were slightly firmer Friday, outperforming a U.S. Treasury selloff after a hotter-than-expected jobs report. Equities rallied. Triple-A yields were firmer by up to four basis points while Treasuries were weaker by up to 15 on the short end. Short ratios fell as a result. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Friday was at 66%, the three-year

The Austin City Council on Thursday approved an $88 million settlement with an airport terminal operator that will allow a largely bond-financed expansion and development program at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to move forward with a midfield concourse project.  The settlement paid with airport revenue will end litigation against the city by LoneStar Airport Holdings,

Two Missouri-based hospital operators, BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke’s Health System, are the latest to join the trend of large-system mergers. The two signed a letter of intent to form an integrated not-for-profit Missouri-based health system Wednesday. The systems will work to reach a definitive agreement “in the coming months” with a closing anticipated by the

Political brinkmanship has the nation’s credit rating headed towards a race against the clock in the U.S. Senate, though the crisis now appears near resolution after the House Wednesday night passed the 99-page Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, a bipartisan effort to avoid default.  Municipal market participants are moved to cautious optimism about the latest events.

Pending state legislation that boosts Milwaukee’s revenue raising prospects falls short of what the city needs to manage rising pension and other costs, Fitch Ratings said in cutting the city’s general obligation bond rating by two notches. Fitch dropped the rating Tuesday to BBB-plus from A and warned of the potential for further deterioration by

Oklahoma, which has been prevented from issuing bonds due to a delayed annual audit, could turn to a new state-financed revolving loan fund for capital projects under a bill passed by lawmakers last week. House Bill 1002X, which heads to the governor, would be a way to self-fund capital improvements as the state has been

Municipals were firmer Tuesday as U.S. Treasuries rallied on improved chances that Congress will raise the debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. default. Equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields fell three to 10 basis points, depending on the scale, underperforming U.S. Treasuries, which improved by five to 14 basis points with the largest gains on the

The White House and Republicans reached a deal over the holiday weekend that will avoid the nation’s first breach of its debt limit and leave untouched leftover pandemic aid allocated to cities and states. A House vote on the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 is set for Wednesday to move the bill ahead of a

California lawmakers are betting voters have had a change of heart regarding the need for a statewide school bond measure. The state Senate approved on Wednesday a $15.5 billion school construction bond measure that would go before voters in March that is similar to the $15 billion Proposition 13, a failed school bond measure that

Municipals were weaker in the belly of the curve Thursday while U.S. Treasury yields sold off on the short end on Fed speak and continued concerns over the debt ceiling impasse. Equities were mixed near the close. Despite the rally in tech stocks, USTs and munis are reacting to uneven economic data and a potential