Bonds

The Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs is facing major changes in its makeup depending on the outcome of the election, especially if Chairman Sherrod Brown, D – Ohio,loses his race.    “The committee is filled with senior members, so I assume the likes of Sens. Jack Reed and Elizabeth Warren will push for

Municipals were little changed Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended down. This year’s summer technical picture has been stronger than 2023, said AllianceBernstein strategists. Total returns for June through August last year were –0.04%, with August wiping out June and July gains as UST yields “jumped” and muni yields moved higher, they

New Jersey is poised to sell up to $2.4 billion of bonds for its transportation infrastructure, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.  The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority is expected to issue $1.3 billion of transportation system bonds and roughly $1.1 billion of transportation program bonds through a negotiated sale in October, the

Municipals were mixed in secondary trading, as $1.8 billion of GOs from New York City came to market in two series, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended up. Several Federal Open Market Committee members saw a case to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in July, according to minutes of the July

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell’s much-anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium should offer clues about the Fed’s thinking ahead of its September meeting, but with limits. “Fed watchers will be parsing Powell’s comments for signs that a 50bp rate cut is on the table for September,” noted Lauren Saidel-Baker, an economist with ITR

Municipals were firmer Tuesday as several of the week’s $12 billion calendar began pricing, led by New York City’s $1.5 billion being offered to retail investors, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities saw losses on the day. Triple-A yields fell by two to eight basis points depending on the curve, with the best performance

Transcription: Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record. Mike Scarchilli (00:04):Hi everyone, and welcome to The Bond Buyer Podcast, your essential resource for insights into everything municipal finance. I’m Mike Scarchilli, Editor-in-Chief for The Bond Buyer,

Constructive secondary trading and a firmer tone were evident Monday as munis took cues from calmer markets overall. Triple-A yield curves saw small improvement, particularly on the short end, with bumps of one to two basis points, while Treasuries were better out longer. With two weeks of market swings in the rearview, and some further

The sponsors of a $20 billion bond measure to fund affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area have removed it from the November ballot. A statement announcing the Bay Area Housing Finance Agency’s decision to withdraw the measure indicated doubt about its ability to garner the necessary two-thirds supermajority from voters in the nine-county

Missouri’s Kansas City Public Schools is looking to take its modernization plan to voters and seek approval for a $474 million general obligation bond measure next April.  The district plans to devote $424 million of the bond proceeds to facilities upgrades for KCPS schools and $50 million to participating charter schools, according to Shain Bergan,

Insurance fraud charges against Austin Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Eduardo Ramos that were not related to his job were dropped by law enforcement in Texas, the school superintendent announced Thursday.  Ramos, who joined the district as CFO in August 2021, resigned eight days before his July 31 arrest after which he was placed

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday called a special legislative session for Aug. 26 on further property tax cuts to circumvent proposed ballot initiatives that could negatively impact public financing and education and local government funding in the state. The Democratic governor said “the cost of inaction is too high” and pledged he won’t sign into

The letters are flying in the partisan debate over environmental, social and governance issues. A group of 20 state attorneys general led by Florida have slammed the U.S. Treasury Department’s recent warning against some state banking laws that the department said could undermine national security. In the Aug. 1 letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen,

Municipals were slightly better on the short end Friday, reversing some of Thursday’s losses, while U.S. Treasuries made small gains across the curve and equities were up near the close. Triple-A yields closed out the week on better footing by one to three basis points, albeit in light secondary trading, ahead of a much larger

Last month, California became the first state to win funds from the Department of Energy’s prominent program to create a series of regional hydrogen hubs to kickstart a new national energy economy. The California Hydrogen Hub received an initial $30 million to begin planning and design phase and will eventually receive up to $1.2 billion

Municipals felt the pressure of a U.S. Treasury market selloff, but outperformed their taxable counterparts, after better economic data sent investors flocking to equities in a risk-on trade. Triple-A yields rose two to four basis points, depending on the yield curve, while UST saw losses of up to 15 basis points on the short end,

Underwriting spreads for all bonds surged in the first half of 2024, rising above $7 for the first time in 25 years. Underwriting spreads rose to $7.11 in the first half of 2024 from $3.70 in the first half of 2023. Spreads on negotiated bonds rose to $6.55 in 1H 2024 from $3.78 in 1H

Municipal bonds improved Wednesday as attention turned to the primary market with Chicago coming off the sidelines to price its delayed general obligation bond deal along with deals from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the Las Vegas Valley Water Department. U.S. Treasuries and equities closed the session mixed following

Seven months after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing and trading of several spot bitcoin exchange-traded product shares, a number of Midwest public pension funds are dabbling in cryptocurrency and crypto company investments. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages the assets of the Wisconsin Retirement System, recently invested roughly $188 million

Municipal yields fell Tuesday as the primary kicked into gear, while munis underperformed an improved U.S. Treasury market as equities rallied after inflation data came in softer than expected. Triple-A municipal curves saw bumps of two to four basis points with the better performance on the short end while Treasuries improved by four to eight

The Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) passed by Congress in December 2022 mandated the use of a common, non-proprietary legal entity identifier for municipal issuers. Although Congress’ legislative intent continues to be a matter of debate, we argue that any implementation of this new mandate will have to satisfy a basic market need: the correct

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. pegged losses from estimated accrual of liabilities stemming from one of the worst wildfires in US history at $1.7 billion and issued a going-concern warning.  Hawaiian Electric said Aug. 2 that it had agreed to pay almost $2 billion as part of a $4 billion settlement to resolve hundreds of lawsuits

Merrimack College’s private partner is selling almost $100 million dollars of bonds for the school’s new housing project. The private Massachusetts college is employing a public-private partnership as it takes advantage of its rare position as a Northeast liberal arts school with rising enrollment. “This is a new way of funding needs of institutions in

BayCare Health System, Florida, plans to price $1.3 billion in bonds the week of August 19 through the Hillsborough County Industrial Development Authority. The authority approved the bonds earlier this month. Bond proceeds will reimburse BayCare for prior capital expenditures, fund future capital projects and pay for capitalized interest and costs of issuance. The authority

California and Oregon are experiencing yet another record-setting year of wildfires. The still-raging Park Fire in northern California, the largest of 12 active fires, has consumed more than 426,000 acres, and is the state’s fourth-largest fire in the past two decades. More than two weeks after an arsonist started the conflagration, it is only 34%

Houston Independent School District will seek bond authorization for the first time in 12 years after its board of managers voted late Thursday to place a two-part, $4.4 billion debt package on the Nov. 5 ballot. The 9-0 vote came after a lengthy public comment period during which many speakers repeated “No trust, no vote”

As governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz has proposed some sweeping investments, including a $3.3 billion bonding bill that would have been the largest in the state’s history, and a $1 billion infrastructure package earlier this year. Some who’ve watched the evolution of the governor’s approach say the new Democratic nominee for vice president is a

Municipals were little changed Friday and U.S. Treasuries were better while equities closed the week in the black, regaining much of the losses that hit Monday. Municipal issuance is expected to fall to about $7.4 billion next week as issuers take pause amid the market volatility. The 10-year AAA fell 30 basis points for the

When Northeastern University announced its intentions to merge with Mills College in 2021, students attending Mills responded with protest and a series of campaigns to halt what they called an “acquisition” of their beloved institution.  Mills College, a small, historically women’s private school, had announced its intention to close after years of declining enrollment and

Municipals were weaker Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities rallied. Triple-A yields rose by two to seven basis points while USTs rose four to five as volatility in both markets continued. The past several trading sessions have seen “crazy volatility,” said Jennifer Johnston, director of research of municipal bonds at Franklin Templeton. <img