Bonds

Speaking Thursday to the Economic Club of New York, former President Donald Trump proposed the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund to pay for infrastructure projects. “We’ll create America’s own sovereign wealth fund to invest in great national endeavors for the benefit of all of the American people,” Trump said. “Why don’t we have

Municipal and U.S. Treasury markets improved Friday after a weak jobs report sent investors fleeing equities in a flight-to-quality trade. While the employment report did not settle the 25 or 50 basis point rate cut argument, economists said, it did cause the UST 2s/10s to de-invert.  “While stocks are selling off, we are witnessing a

The Jackson Hospital & Clinic in Montgomery, Alabama, has named a chief restructuring officer in the aftermath of a bond payment default. Allen Wilen, partner at Eisner Advisory Group, will be the chief restructuring officer bond trustee UMB Bank, N.A., announced Thursday after the hospital failed to make a bond payment Tuesday. UMB believes there

Municipals were slightly firmer Thursday amid another busy day in the primary market, which saw a $1.1 billion deal from the North Texas Tollway Authority price and $850 million of general obligation bonds from Massachusetts sold in the competitive market. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Thursday was at

One third of bridges in the U.S. need to be repaired or replaced. But federal infrastructure dollars are helping states chip away at that number, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s latest annual bridge report. “‘Slow and steady’ describes ongoing state efforts to reduce the number of bridges in poor condition (“structurally

South Dakota voters will determine the fate of Initiated Measure 28, which would eliminate the state sales tax on groceries. Illinois, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Utah, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia have eliminated or reduced this tax, according to the Urban Institute Tax Policy Center.  “Grocery taxes are regarded as a regressive form of taxes, and cutting

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia president Patrick HarkerBloomberg News Patrick Harker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, will step down from his post next June, the bank announced Wednesday. A search committee of six board members for the regional Fed bank has been formed to search for Harker’s replacement. The bank has also

Municipals were little changed to firmer in spots Tuesday as U.S. Treasury yields fell while equities sold off to start September. “With August now behind us, munis continued the summer rally with [the month] returning 0.79%, pushing year-to-date gains to 1.30%,” said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities. This marked the first

Denver Public Schools (DPS), which is seeking voter approval for a record-$975 million of bonds this fall, received one-notch downgrades from Fitch Ratings based on local government rating criteria changes.  The district’s AA-plus underlying general obligation rating was lowered last week to AA and its AA certificate of participation rating was cut to AA-minus, both

The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia’s $373 million of subordinated bonds are scheduled to price on Sept. 5. The bonds are rated A2 by Moody’s Ratings and A-minus by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. The ratings have stable outlooks. BofA Securities will serve as senior manager and Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo Securities

Municipals were little changed while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended mixed. Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows as investors added $1.047 billion to funds after $512.9 million of inflows the week prior, according to LSEG Lipper. This marks nine straight weeks of inflows. <img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/19228117/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> High-yield continued to show

A proposal to help solve California’s property insurance crisis would tap the bond markets and could involve billions of dollars in debt issuance. The debt would be issued through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. Assembly Bill 2996 authored by Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, would help stabilize the insurance marketplace by bolstering the

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said in a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in August that inflation has been cooling to the point where the central bank is willing to cut the Federal Funds Rate for the first time in four years. Bloomberg News Inflation continued to show signs of easing in the Federal Reserve’s

August saw an increase in supply for the eighth consecutive month as pent-up demand and front-loaded issuance led issuers to tap the capital markets, leading to the highest monthly total volume for August on record. August’s volume reached $49.174 billion in 873 issues, up 25% from $39.33 billion in 827 issues in 2023. August’s total

The South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank’s revenue bonds were upgraded to Aa2 from Aa3 by Moody’s Ratings, following a change in the rating agency’s methodology. It was one of 225 credits Moody’s placed on review for possible upgrade July 25 when it released a revised rating methodology for “certain debt instruments supported by a pledge

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of the holiday weekend as U.S. Treasuries lost ground while stocks rallied. Triple-A yields closed the week little changed while USTs saw yields rise three to five basis points. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Friday was at 63%, the three-year at 64%, the five-year at 65%, the 10-year at 69%

Fitch Ratings revised the outlook to positive from negative on $1.2 billion in private-activity bonds issued to pay for Los Angeles World Airport’s people mover project. Fitch also affirmed the BB-plus rating on the two series of senior lien revenue bonds issued through the California Municipal Finance Authority for LINXS, the consortium of private companies

A business group filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the constitutionality of a 2021 Texas law that punishes banks and other financial firms for “boycotting” the fossil fuel industry. The case, brought by the American Sustainable Business Council against Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court in Austin, claims the law

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is changing leadership regardless of who wins the election as Chairman Tom Carper, a champion of the Biden administration’s tax and infrastructure policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act, will not be returning to Congress next term. “As Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I’m

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen last week signed into law a package of bills that includes caps on spending authority for local cities and counties. Their signing follows a concerted push by Pillen to pass property tax reform by calling a special session of the legislature on July 25.  The governor’s plan originally was to secure

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Tensquare, a national charter school support organization, and its partner Karl Jentoft for acting as a municipal advisor on eight municipal bond issuances for eight separate charter schools in Minnesota. Without admitting or denying the findings, Tensquare had been ordered to pay $51,716 in disgorgement, $9,523.59 in prejudgement

A class-action lawsuit filed Monday by Austin, Texas, property taxpayers against the city seeks the elimination of $187 million in property tax revenue allocated in the 2024 tax year for a light-rail project. The litigation is the latest salvo in a legal battle over the ability of the Austin Transit Partnership, a nonprofit corporation created

The nation’s largest children’s hospital has hit a rough financial patch, leading to two bond rating downgrades and plans to cut nearly 1,000 jobs, while it eyes a return to the municipal bond market. Ratings for Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital were cut one notch to AA-minus by Fitch Ratings in July and Aug. 19 by

Municipals were steady Monday as U.S. Treasuries were slightly weaker and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 62%, the three-year at 65%, the five-year at 66%, the 10-year at 71% and the 30-year at 87%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m. EST read. ICE Data Services had the two-year

Ohio’s Eastern Gateway Community College will dissolve and close after a series of missteps and scandals. Red flags include settling a lawsuit with the Department of Education over its handling of Pell Grants for students; a grand jury indictment of its former president and his chief of staff; and failing to file on the Municipal

Mirroring national trends, most states in the Far West enjoyed a double-digit jump in municipal bond issuance in the first half of the year as market conditions for borrowers improved. Issuance across the nine-state region totaled $49.7 billion, up 28.3% from $38.7 billion over the same period last year, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

Nevada would get its first toll road under a public-private partnership floated by the city of Sparks. State lawmakers would need to approve the move, as Nevada law currently bans fees on roads that are part of P3s. The city manager of Sparks, located just east of Reno, has proposed a 13-mile toll road that

Major infrastructure improvements will aid the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s finances in the coming months and years, officials said. WAPA is under extreme financial pressure, according to board members, and its electric system revenue bonds were rated CC, before Fitch Ratings withdrew the rating in December. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved

The end is near for a 52-year public-private partnership that built a managed lanes toll road project in the Houston area, with the Texas Department of Transportation announcing Friday the state intends to take over the project’s operation in October. The move came after financing for the P3 termination was cleared Thursday by the Texas

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole Friday removed any uncertainty of a rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting, pushing U.S. Treasury yields lower on the short end, with municipals following suit, while stocks rallied on the news. “Powell has rung the bell for the start of the cutting cycle,” said Seema