Bonds

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo looked out at the Economic Club of New York luncheon gathering. “It’s been a hard year. We can’t sugarcoat that,” the former Rhode Island governor said. “But there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic … We ought to take a second to look at the bright side.” One

Two New York City pension funds have successfully completed the divestment of securities related to fossil fuel companies, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer announced Wednesday. The Trustees of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and the Board of Education Retirement System (BERS) said the action brings their total divestment across

Moody’s Investors Service said it revised the outlook on Jackson, Mississippi, to stable from under review. At the same time, it confirmed the Ba2 rating on the city’s water and sewer system revenue bonds. About $191 million of debt is outstanding. “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that rate increases will enable it to improve

Berwyn, Illinois’ ratings remain intact after a review ahead of its $99 million general obligation debt refunding, restructuring and new money issue that will provide budgetary relief and pay down unfunded public safety pension liabilities. S&P Global Ratings had put the city’s BBB GO and A-minus securitization ratings on CreditWatch with developing implications Sept. 30

In some ways, the pandemic has expanded the municipal market’s use of technology. How are participants using these new tools in an industry that often lags behind? Experts Unmesh Bhide, CFA, chief product officer and co-founder of PricingDirect, Lumesis CEO Gregg Bienstock and Munite/PFM director of municipal investor relations John M. Murphy join moderator Lynn

What’s ahead in public finance? Join San Diego County Water Authority finance director and treasurer Lisa Marie Harris, City of San José deputy director of debt and Treasury management Nikolai J. Sklaroff and City and County of San Francisco public finance director Anna Van Degna in this Arizent Leaders panel discussion to explore this and

Municipals were little changed with barely a trade to point to, keeping with the trend of sitting on the sidelines while U.S. Treasuries saw losses, more so out long, and equities made gains. Triple-A benchmarks were left unchanged and ratios were slightly lower on the moves in UST. The five-year was at 47%, 69% in

Higher education credit downgrades remain more likely than upgrades next year as colleges and universities cope with the latest form of the COVID-19 virus, analysts at Fitch Ratings said. “The neutral sector outlook for U.S. colleges and universities reflects Fitch Ratings’ expectation for some enrollment recovery, solid state budget prospects and good levels of budgetary

Municipals continued on the unchanged path with sparse trading and no primary to speak of for guidance, keeping the asset class in idle mode to end 2021. The Investment Company Institute reported $91 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Dec. 15, down from $517 million in the previous week.

Florida’s municipal bond issuance is expected to fall over the next 10 years even as revenues rise after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on state’s economy. The state’s debt position improved in fiscal 2021 as a result of the favorable interest rate environment, according to the Florida Debt Report released last week by the state

Municipals were little changed in quiet trading with few prints to direct benchmark yields in any direction while the pendulum swung to risk-on with equities seeing large gains and U.S. Treasuries slumping back to losses. Triple-A benchmarks were left unchanged, and ratios fell. The five-year was at 48%, 69% in 10 and 78% in 30,

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Municipals were very lightly traded and little changed Monday, starting off the final two holiday-shortened weeks of 2021 with paltry supply and lightly staffed desks. The U.S. Treasury curve steepened with the long end weaker and equities sold off on continued COVID-19 concerns. The entire muni AAA curve has been stable for two weeks and

The California Chamber of Commerce threw its support behind a constitutional amendment that would transfer the responsibility for drafting official descriptions of statewide ballot measures to the non-partisan legislative analyst’s office from the attorney general. The statewide chamber’s board voted Thursday to support the Ballot Measure Transparency Act of 2022. “Voters should have the expectation

Puerto Rico’s employment rebound is outpacing that of the United States, Federal Reserve officials said Friday. They pointed to Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing the island’s employment in October was up 1% since October 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparison, U.S. employment was down 3% in the period. New

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