Bonds

RBC Capital Markets, LLC agreed to pay more than $280,500 to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority charges that it violated the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s suitability rules when it failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system with respect to high-yield municipal bonds. In a December 14 Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC),

Private companies in California hoping for a tax-exempt bond allocation are going to have to lessen their expectations as state officials prioritize the state’s housing crisis. As demand for private activity bonds in the state has become competitive in recent years, the board of the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee has had to make some

Illinois would save $800 million in long-term lease and maintenance costs under a proposed deal in the works to sell the state’s downtown Chicago headquarters buildint. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state has entered exclusive negotiations with The Prime Group, which is expected to lead to a sale that would provide the state with an

It was Groundhog Day for municipals as triple-A benchmark yields held steady on Tuesday while Treasuries were weaker and equities sold off. Triple-A yield curves were unchanged on the day and mostly have not budged but a basis point in spots since the end of November. Most generic benchmark curves have remained static all month

Harvey, Illinois, believes it can meet a June bondholder settlement deadline to restructure defaulted debt even as work continues to resolve litigation its long been mired in with Chicago over its water supply. The fiscally struggling Chicago suburb hired the advisory firm Meristem Advisors LLC last year and in July began working with Loop Capital

Munis started off quiet this week ahead of some big deals on tap, with new issuance totaling nearly $8 billion. Triple-A yield curves were little changed on the day while U.S. Treasuries were stronger. Ratios were slightly higher with the five-year muni-to-UST ratio at 49% in five years, 72% in 10 and 82% in 30,

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, one of the nation’s largest electric cooperatives, is mapping a cleaner future while facing a loss of key members. Seven of Colorado-based Tri-State’s 42 member utilities are considering an exit in pursuit of more affordable power sources, greater flexibility and less reliance on coal. Currently, members are required to buy

Amid rising prices, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, governments are increasingly eying so-called progressive development agreements, or PDAs, as a way to minimize uncertainties as they embark on complex infrastructure projects. The move can reduce risks and costs and deliver a project faster, said Moody’s Investors Service analyst John Medina. “Construction costs are very

Chicago wrapped up the pricing on $1.45 billion of refinancing bonds Thursday after structural tweaks and a $1 billion tender and exchange allowed the city to scale back on the deal’s size and still meet a $250 million savings target. A look at the 10-year in the tax-exempt pieces showed spreads narrowed sharply from the

Turmoil at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, including a former general manager’s guilty plea to felony bribery, should not affect its Kroll Bond Rating Agency ratings. LADWP holds Kroll’s AA-plus rating on its water system revenue bonds and AA on its power system revenue bonds. The outlook on both ratings is stable.

Municipal bonds were steady for the eighth straight session Friday as U.S. Treasuries were slightly better and stocks rose after Consumer Price Index data came as expected, though the highest since 1982. “U.S. stocks rallied after the latest inflation report did not come in as hot as many were expecting. Wall Street did not see

Quincy, Massachusetts, is planning a $475 million pension obligation bond sale for Tuesday that is projected to fully fund its retirement system. City officials say they are getting out front of a state directive for its municipalities to reach full pension funding by 2037 and borrowing while interest rates are still low. Ramirez & Co.

Municipal yields held steady for the seventh session in a row in light trading Thursday as the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York’s $2.5 billion of competitive loans were the focus while U.S. Treasuries made gains and equities were mixed on heightened Omicron concerns. Triple-A yield curves were little changed on the day

Mark Zehner spent 25 years dropping the hammer on municipal securities wrongdoers, helping to firmly establish the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement of the laws in the muni market. His career saw the SEC bring cases against negligent issuers and audacious fraudsters, broker-dealers and bond lawyers. He still views the municipal market as a place

Secondary trading saw an uptick and some pressures emerged on munis, but benchmark yield curves were little changed to weaker by a basis point in spots, again outperforming taxables. U.S. Treasuries slid further with the largest rise in yields on the long bond, and equities made gains after a mixed open. ICE Data Services and

For the first time in North Carolina history, an economically unstable municipality has been dissolved. The Local Government Commission Tuesday afternoon unanimously voted to dissolve the Town of East Laurinburg as an incorporated entity. It marked the first time the LGC has used the powers it was recently granted by state lawmakers. In November the

Municipal secondary trading was light and triple-A benchmark yields left unchanged as the large primary diverted attention while U.S. Treasuries were weaker again and equities rallied. Trading was down 18% from Monday, which was already a light day at $5.6 billion par traded, as new issues were the focus and provided some direction. The day’s

Chicago heads into the market this week with an upsized $2.2 billion refinancing under its general obligation and Sales Tax Securitization Corp. credits after finalizing the results of a tender and exchange offer. “It’s roundly about $1 billion more for the results of the tender,” Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett’s office said in

Praise poured in from throughout Connecticut when Kevin Lembo announced his resignation as state comptroller. Lembo, 58, has been comptroller for 11 years. On Friday he cited a “serious and debilitating cardiac condition that has recently been worsening in intensity and severity.” According to Lembo, cardiologists recommended that he not continue working. “Unfortunately, my health

Nine parties filed challenges to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s written arguments for its proposed Plan of Adjustment. The challenges concern preemption of pension laws, various bondholder treatments and whether government employees were given ample notice of the plan. The board filed its “proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law” in connection with confirmation

The federal government is seeking feedback on the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and one of the act’s most high-profile sections, the electric vehicle charging infrastructure program. The pair of Requests for Information, published this week, mark the first step toward developing guidance for the $1.1 trillion package. The act features dozens of new

Eric Adams has about a month before his Jan. 1 swearing in as New York mayor to prepare for his first budget presentation. While he inherits a city with roughly $15 billion in multiple rounds of emergency federal funding, better-than-expected revenue and diminished outyear budget gaps, a raft of fiscal variables will confront him at

Mark Zehner has retired from his position as deputy chief of the Office of Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Unit at the Securities and Exchange Commission after almost 25 years with the regulator, passing the torch to Rebecca Olsen, former director of the office of municipal securities. Zehner’s last day with the Commission was Nov.

After a full seven trading sessions of volatility in U.S. Treasuries and equities, municipals ended Friday quiet, little changed, and again ignored the moves in other markets. Treasuries saw yields fall and equities sold off on lower-than-expected employment figures while triple-A municipal benchmark yields were steady to firmer by a basis point in spots. This

The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Ernesto A. Lanza as the new acting director for the Office of Municipal Securities. The announcement of the appointment came after Rebecca Olsen’s move from director to deputy chief became public following the retirement of longtime regulator and former deputy chief Mark Zehner. Bloomberg News “I look forward

The Bay Area Toll Authority’s plans to price $1.3 billion in toll bridge revenue bonds next week are expected to see robust demand, even as the seven-bridge system sees a softer pandemic recovery than other tollway credits in the U.S. Lead managers BofA Securities, Citi and JP Morgan, along with co-manager Goldman Sachs & Co.

Municipals were mostly steady throughout the day and the primary was the focus while U.S. Treasuries whipsawed and stocks sold off after the first Omicron case was reported in California. The Investment Company Institute reported $974 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds and another round of small outflows from exchange-traded funds. Treasuries ended

Private investment and flexible federal rules will be key to ensuring that the new $1.1 trillion infrastructure program perseveres beyond a 10-year horizon, governors said Tuesday during the National Governors Association Infrastructure Summit. A bridge project in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a case study in how big public projects will need private investment on top

Municipals were stronger Tuesday as U.S. Treasuries rallied and stocks sold off on Omicron variant concerns and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on speeding up tapering the Fed’s bond buying sooner than originally expected. It is appropriate to “consider ramping up tapering” and it will be discussed at the next FOMC meeting, when more

New York’s Moynihan Train Hall project has received a $606.7 million direct loan under the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act. The refinancing will add up to $80.5 million to the $526.5 million TIFIA loan to the Empire State Development Corp. that closed in 2017, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Monday. The additional