Bonds

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

Franklin Templeton hired Lloyd Nemerever to help the asset manager capitalize on growing interest from retail investors in separately managed accounts for municipal bonds. In the newly created role, Nemerever will lead portfolio management for Franklin Templeton Fixed Income’s retail municipal bond separately managed account strategies, including the construction of new portfolios customized to meet

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s request for information on environmental, social and governance considerations in the muni market represents a dangerous attempt by the board to bring politics into the realm of public finance and should be abandoned immediately. That’s according to Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks, who helped lead the coalition of officials from

Municipal yields rose up to seven basis points Thursday pushing the one-year triple-A muni to 1%, a level not seen since April 2020 during the initial COVID-led selloff. U.S. Treasuries pared back some losses near the close, but the two-year hit its highest level in over two years after inflation hit its highest in 40.

Tackling California’s housing crisis and alleviating the financial blow of rising gas prices and inflation are hot button issues as the governor’s May budget revision draws near. Gov. Gavin Newsom promised a gas tax rebate in his State of the State speech Tuesday night and unveiled a CARE Court program last week aimed at getting

Detroit’s post-Chapter 9 fiscal progress despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s revenue blows drew an upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service that moves the city two notches away from investment grade. Moody’s raised the rating Wednesday one notch to Ba2 from Ba3 and signaled by leaving a positive outlook on the rating that another upgrade could be in

Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Oversight Board to take quick action to advance a new deal for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, after the governor killed the existing deal Tuesday. In her order on Tuesday evening, Swain rejected the requests of the Ad Hoc Group of PREPA Bondholders and yet

With the House poised Wednesday to follow President Biden’s action to ban Russian energy imports, a group of Democratic governors pressed Congress to suspend the federal gas tax to ease pressure on U.S. drivers. The House is set to vote as soon as Wednesday afternoon on bipartisan legislation that would ban the import of Russian

Municipals were weaker Monday along with U.S. Treasuries while stocks sold off on the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine. Triple-A yield curves saw two to five basis point cuts while UST yields rose up to six basis points, paring back some of Friday’s gains. Municipal to UST ratios showed the five-year at to 81% (down

Disgruntled fans have filed a pair of lawsuits against the National Football League seeking damages for moving the San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles. The most recent complaint, filed in San Diego Superior Court in mid-February, contains allegations similar to those in a separate lawsuit filed in January. Robert Kirkbright, a five-year season ticket holder

Budget season has kicked off in New York City as the first public comments on the nearly $100 billion spending plan were heard this week. The city is in good financial shape, analysts said, thanks in part to federal aid. The City Council on Wednesday began the first of a series of public hearings that

Idaho school districts will ask voters to approve $288.4 million of bonds and tax levies during Tuesday’s election to help districts deal with enrollment growth. The state has experienced rapid population growth over the past several years that has transformed its metropolitan areas from small towns into fast-paced cities. The state’s population has grown by

A pair of high-profile public-private partnership projects will advance after winning key federal loans this week. Maryland’s Purple Line light rail project received a $1.7 billion Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan and the Capital Beltway Express LLC got a $1.05 billion loan. Both loans will be used in part to refinance outstanding TIFIA

Municipals ended the week mixed, while the swings in U.S. Treasuries continued and equities sold off as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalates. Triple-A yield curves saw one to four basis point cuts while UST yields fell up to 12 basis points on the 10-year, with ratios inching closer to 100% as a result. Municipal to

The White House is rejecting Republican demands to split up its nominees to the Federal Reserve, with President Biden’s spokeswoman telling GOP lawmakers to show up and vote no on Sarah Bloom Raskin rather than further stalling consideration. “All five of our nominees, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, are well qualified for these positions and we’re

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit set the hearing for a stay on the Puerto Rico Plan of Adjustment for Wednesday after several teachers’ associations filed the request. On Friday the Appeals Court gave until 5 p.m. on Sunday for the Puerto Rico Oversight Board to respond to the teachers’ request for

Another day of losses for municipals on Thursday as U.S. Treasuries fluctuated throughout the session, equities were back in the red while another round of outflows were reported from municipal bond mutual funds. Triple-A yield curves saw three to seven basis point cuts, with the larger losses out long, while UST reversed earlier losses to

The University of Michigan’s upcoming $2.1 billion new money and refunding issue marks two firsts for the state flagship school as it offers both a century bond and green-designated paper. The series that include a taxable $1.2 billion century bond and $300 million of axable green bonds could begin selling as soon as next week

Oppenheimer & Co. launched a municipal restructuring group Wednesday in response to a rise in high-yield municipal bond defaults as more transactions show impairments. The 18-member group will be headed by Eric Scroggins, co-head of debt advisory and restructuring, and Bill Reisner, head of public finance investment banking. Depending on the deal, the group can