Bonds

Ten states reached full pre-pandemic employment levels in January, according to Fitch Ratings. Five of these states are in the Southeast — Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Arkansas — while Montana, Utah, Idaho, Texas and Arizona also hit the milestone during the first month of the year, Fitch said in a report released Thursday.

Investors could face a run on money market funds in the coming months as interest rate increases and liquidity concerns begin to mount, potentially impacting the market for certain types of municipal debt. The threat was articulated in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s March 2022 report on money market fund vulnerabilities. “From their

Municipal yields rose Friday to close out a rough week, with the short end of the curve again seeing the brunt of the damage, with double-digit cuts to triple-A scales. U.S. Treasuries yields rose another 14-15 basis points on the short end, while equities ended mixed. Munis saw up to 12 basis point cuts on

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board conditionally approved renewable energy agreements that are projected to save the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority millions and expand its reliance on renewables. On Friday the Puerto Rico Oversight Board said it conditionally approved 18 power purchase and operating agreements between the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and 15 companies

Four and half years after hurricanes Maria and Irma battered Puerto Rico, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, federal reconstruction aid is still ramping up and analysts say that money could be structured to do more for the territory’s economy as it emerges from bankruptcy. The federal government has allocated $71.5 billion of hurricane reconstruction funds

Municipals were hit hard Thursday with up to nine basis point cuts on the short end, but the damage was felt across the curve. U.S. Treasury yields rose while equities rallied in another see-saw day for markets. Trading was weaker out of the gates, with large blocks of high-grades changing hands at higher yields. Long

Former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey has been chosen to be the next president of New York City Transit. New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber announced Wednesday that Davey will oversee operations for the city’s subways, buses, paratransit services and the Staten Island Railway. Public service and more importantly public transportation is

Lawyers for Preston Hollow Capital LLC and Nuveen Investments will square off Thursday over summary judgment requests and what expert testimony should be heard when PHC’s defamation allegations potentially go to trial this summer. Dallas-based PHC’s legal pursuit of the Chicago-based investment powerhouse forges on two years after a Delaware Chancery Court judge concluded the

Municipals sold off double-digit basis points Tuesday following continued market volatility and a rapidly rising U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut up to 12 basis points, with the asset class unable to ignore the ongoing pressure from U.S. Treasuries, which saw yields rise another basis points . The Refinitiv MMD 10-year spot has

The U.S. Virgin Islands is extending its tender offer to holders of some of its outstanding matching fund bonds to Friday, in advance of an expected refunding of nearly $1 billion of the remaining bonds next week. The Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority and Matching Fund Special Purpose Securitization Corporation originally solicited bondholders to participate

The United States Environmental Protection Agency formally invited the Sites Reservoir Authority to apply for a $2.2 billion loan, energizing the long-delayed massive storage project in northern California. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan announcement last week comes on top of word from the California Department of Water Resources on Wednesday that the

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 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey aims to seal its position as a frontrunner in U.S. airport public-private partnerships as it embarks on its latest and largest P3, a high-profile revamp of an international terminal at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. The $9.5 billion redevelopment of Terminal 1 is the most

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

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

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

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

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

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

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%,

Lawmakers approved a Washington state bill last week that would supplement existing highway bond authorizations with an additional pledge of vehicle-related fees. Gov. Jay Inslee has 20 days from the Legislature’s approval to sign or veto the bill. “The Legislature recognizes the importance of transportation electrification and the need to maintain stable funding for highway

Municipal analysts expect high-yield investors to welcome Tuesday’s restructuring of Puerto Rico’s central government bonds as the commonwealth begins repaying bondholders since it defaulted on its debt in 2016, marking an official end to a years-long, contentious bankruptcy process. The restructuring will affect $33.2 billion of bonds, making it the largest municipal restructuring in U.S.

Federal American Rescue Plan Act money was essential to maintaining fiscal solvency, several West Coast mayors said at a press conference after they narrowly avoided having unspent money clawed back by Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cut $15.6 billion in COVID aid from the federal omnibus budget bill approved Wednesday in order to avoid triggering

News about the “novel coronavirus” was intensifying in March 2020. The World Health Organization declared a pandemic March 11. The NBA and NHL suspended their seasons March 12 after a Utah Jazz basketball player tested positive for COVID-19. But most office workers reported to work on Friday, March 13. When they returned home, most knew

When Denver Water last year embarked on an ambitious, 15-year project to fully replace lead service lines in its system, one of the early hurdles proved to be meeting a key Internal Revenue Service test for tax-exempt financing. Before the utility could issue tax-exempt bonds for the $500 million program, which would replace both the

Municipal yields rose Friday to close out a rough week ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar and the Fed’s expected rate hike. “The yield curve has been — and will continue to be — the most important indicator we watch during Fed tightening cycles and rising rate environments,” said Wells Fargo Investment Institute Investment Strategy