Bonds

Municipals made further gains on Friday, pushing yields down as much as another eight basis points, to close out a seven-day rally, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the end of March 2020 as the market began to rebound from the COVID-19-led turmoil. Triple-A yields have fallen more than half a percentage point

Two municipal mutual funds managed by Nuveen will again open to new investors next month after a soft closure more than nine months ago, the firm said this week.  Both the reopening and soft closure of the funds were market-related and were decided in the best interest of shareholders, according to Nuveen. Effective June 1,

Municipals continued their rally Thursday with yields falling by another 12 to 15 basis points while U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities rallied. Secondary trading pushed yields lower again. Certain prints showed bonds trading up by more than 65 basis points from Friday’s levels. New York paper, in particular, was rallying in the secondary.

A Puerto Rico attorney filed a motion charging the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s local law firm with a conflict of interest related to its representation of four financial firms that acquired a $384 million loan portfolio from an entity under control of the board. Attorney Carlos Lamoutte filed the motion against Puerto Rico law firm

Not much needs to be said about the impact of rising rates and volatility on the muni market — new  issuance and trading activity have been impacted, and a look into the crystal ball suggests the rest  of 2022 will be more of the same. Add to that the challenges of attracting and retaining talent

Moody’s Investors Service raised Louisiana’s general obligation bonds and issuer credit rating to Aa2 from Aa3 Wednesday, citing significant progress the state has made restoring its financial reserves and liquidity. Despite a trend that sees a decline in production and a rise in volatility for its gas and oil industries along with unfavorable demographics, the

Anaheim, California, Mayor Henry Sidhu has resigned amid allegations of corruption involving the city’s sale of Angel Stadium to the Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball team. Sidhu resigned Monday, effective Tuesday, saying it would allow the city to “move forward without distractions” as the FBI investigates allegations that he provided insider information to the

A nonprofit Texas-based retirement community operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday to deal with its troubled debt and sell its assets. Christian Care Centers, which operates three senior living communities in the Dallas area, has $50.17 million of revenue bonds outstanding and owes $3.11 million in accrued and unpaid interest, according to documents filed

Municipals strengthened ahead of a light new-issue calendar, while a U.S. Treasury sell-off saw cuts up to nine basis points, and equities ended up. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped two to seven basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose seven to nine basis points five years and out. As a result, muni-to-UST

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said policy makers could potentially pause interest-rate increases in September after hiking by a half point at each of their next two meetings. “I have got a baseline view where for me I think a pause in September might make sense,” Bostic told reporters Monday following a

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board won an Appeals Court decision on its central government Plan of Adjustment but lost a ruling on its coverage by local document disclosure laws.  The board lost its battle on sovereign immunity, as a federal appeals court ruled in favor of media that requested board documents be released. The board

Factory and port shutdowns in China, the Port of Oakland’s largest trading partner, were a leading factor in a double-digit drop in cargo volume in April, port officials said. Disruptions at Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, are delaying U.S.-bound import shipments and wreaking havoc on ocean carrier scheduling.  “U.S. exports have been hampered by vessel schedules thrown

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority will increase rates, change water meters and take other steps to raise $1 billion over five years to address growing expenses. The board’s fiscal plan includes a 4.95% increase in the base charge in fiscal 2023 and a 2% increase in consumption charges from fiscal 2023 to fiscal

The Municipal Forum of New York honored three industry leaders and awarded a scholarship to an Urban Leadership Fellows at its annual dinner on Thursday. Homer Schaaf, Of Counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright, was awarded the Forum’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Elizabeth Fine, counsel to the governor of New York State, receivedr the Public Service Award,

Laws proposed or passed by several states prohibiting local governments from paying ransoms in cyberattacks are viewed as an encouraging trend by Moody’s Investors Service. The laws enhance preparedness and incident response, which Moody’s wrote in a commentary, are both credit positives for local governments. “The measures to prohibit ransomware payments will encourage local governments

Municipals were better Friday after catching a bid in the secondary, finally following U.S. Treasuries in a flight-to-quality, while still underperforming, keeping valuations above 100% on the 10- and 30-year. Equities pared back earlier losses to end mixed after the S&P 500 dipped into bear market territory earlier in the session. “The correlation between stocks

Gerald Corrigan, who spent a quarter century at the Federal Reserve, including an eight-year stint as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, died Tuesday in Boston. He was 80. The longtime Fed and Goldman Sachs banker was 80. After leaving the New York Fed in 1993, Corrigan entered the private sector. He

Municipal bonds still have a role to play in financing infrastructure despite the billions unleashed by the new federal law and state and local governments that are brimming with cash. “There is of course the need to leverage this money in order to get projects done,” said Patrick Brett, managing director of municipal debt capital

Illinois priced $1.64 billion of general obligation debt Wednesday at spreads on par with current trading levels that have more than doubled this year due to market turmoil despite a round of upgrades. A U.S. Treasury market rally helped calm the market, but news of a 17th week of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds

Issuer fears that ESG regulation will lead to disclosure trouble are overblown, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s muni office chief said Wednesday. Dave Sanchez’s comments were part of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts’ 2022 Annual Conference, where panelists spent considerable time discussing the recent ESG initiatives underway at the SEC and Municipal Securities Rulemaking

St. Louis County, Missouri, takes competitive bids Wednesday on $114 million of special obligation bonds that will provide its long-stalled share of public financing for the expansion and renovation of the downtown convention center. The bonds mature from 2034 to 2047. Columbia Capital Management LLC is advising the county. The bonds are rated AA rating

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown warned Monday that state officials are seeing conditions that indicate another challenging fire season ahead. “Already this year, I have had to declare drought emergencies in 15 counties,” said Brown, who terms out this year. “That is the most I have ever had to declare by this time of year, of

Municipals were little changed and U.S. Treasuries were mixed in what amounted to a relatively quiet day for fixed-income markets, while equities were mixed to end the day. Municipals took more of a wait-and-see approach ahead of a calendar filled with general obligation bonds from credits across the spectrum. Municipal to UST ratios were still

Although discounting has a critical role in funding and refunding decisions, it does not receive the attention it deserves. For example, to analyze a refunding proposal, we need to determine the cost of the outstanding and the refunding bonds on a present-value basis. Should tax-exempt and taxable bonds be discounted with the same rate or

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester backed raising interest rates by half percentage points at the central bank’s next two policy meetings in order to tamp down surging inflation.  “Unless there are some big surprises, I expect it to be appropriate to raise the policy rate another 50 basis points at each of

As gas prices hit a fresh record high Friday, some analysts wonder when they will begin to impact the credit quality of transportation assets, like toll roads and airlines. Not now, S&P Global Ratings said in a report, but that could change if high prices stick around. “From a historical perspective, volatile fuel prices have

Illinois’ rosier near-term fiscal landscape and state bond rating momentum helped lift the ratings of public transit agencies and the state’s public universities and more than $5 billion of rated debt.   Earlier this month, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority’s $1.7 billion of general obligation bonds to Aa3 from A1 due

California Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out an $18 billion inflation-relief package during his May budget revision that included $400 rebates to car owners as well as expanded rental assistance and help covering past-due utility bills. The state budget boasts a $97.5 billion surplus, according to the governor’s estimates, but lawmakers also face spending restrictions from

A reversal of U.S. Treasuries added more selling pressure on municipals Friday with another day of cheaper trading in the secondary leading to cuts in triple-A scales after a week of underperformance to taxables that pushed ratios firmly above 100% out long. Municipal triple-A benchmark yields rose up to five basis points in another rough

New York City got some good news just as it prepares to come to market with more than $1 billion of general obligation bonds next week. Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on the city’s AA-minus rated GOs to positive from stable citing improved revenue performance as the city sees a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.