Category: Bonds

  • Municipals outperform UST losses

    <img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/21697965/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> The municipal bond market was narrowly mixed ahead of smaller supply slate, while Treasury yields rose and equity prices were marginally lower on the day. The day’s moves led municipal to UST ratios to fall slightly. The two-year municipal to UST ratio Tuesday was at 62%, the five-year at…

  • Trump’s cost-cutting may impair federal lease-backed bonds

    As NASA contemplates relocating, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has urged the space agency to move down to the Space Coast around Cape Canaveral.Michelle Bruzzese/Bloomberg The Trump administration’s efforts to shed office space as part of wider cost-cutting measures brings uncertainty for holders of a substantial yet esoteric corner of the municipal bond market — revenue…

  • Muni advocates raise the stakes in tax-exempt fight

    “Losing tax-exempt bonds would devastate American communities and set economic development efforts back decades,” said Toby Rittner, president and CEO of the Council of Development Finance Agencies. ”Communities use bonds to finance their built environment, infrastructure, schools and future growth needs. The housing industry uses bonds for affordable, senior and workforce housing. There are no alternatives…

  • Sweetwater UHSD heads to market with remarkable turnaround story

    Sweetwater Union High School District broke ground in May on Castle Park High School’s football stadium. The project is funded partly by the district’s municipal bond program.Sweetwater Union High School District A San Diego-area high school district barred from market access four years ago will ride in Wednesday with a lift from a ratings upgrade…

  • House clears path to tax reform

    “This budget resolution provides the fiscal framework for what will be one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in modern history and the principal legislative vehicle for delivering on President Trump’s America First agenda,” House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said.Allison Robbert/Bloomberg The House Budget Committee late Thursday passed a partisan budget resolution that clears…

  • MSRB: yields, market volatility drive muni market trading volume

    MSRB Chief Economist Simon Wu A report published by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Thursday identified yields and market volatility as key drivers of secondary market trading volume in the municipal securities market, which has seen a record number of trades in each of the past three years. For their report, authors Simon Wu and…

  • Washington, D.C., airports under scrutiny

    “A key credit risk for airports is financial exposure from litigation, which is generally mitigated by insurance,” said Kurt Forsgren, US Public Finance Managing Director, S&P Global Ratings. ”While safety concerns could weaken an airport’s desirability and demand over the long term, this hasn’t been observed for major US airports.”S&P Global Ratings A history of close…

  • InspereX welcomes Scott Mitchell as CEO

    Scott Mitchell has been appointed CEO of InspereX after the firm experienced a banner year. Scott Mitchell, a 20-year veteran of J.P. Morgan, has joined InspereX as its CEO, succeeding former CEO John DesPrez III. “The firm just has great people, and a really unique culture, even then, and even more so now, the breadth…

  • Munis firmer ahead of $5.5B new-issue calendar

    <img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/21638175/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Municipals were firmer ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended mixed. “A solid January employment report already halted the Treasury market rally last Friday,” while this week’s consumer price index report caused more “bear steepening” of the Treasury curve, said BofA strategists.…

  • PREPA bondholders may challenge board’s advisory fees

    PREPA bondholders said if the board continues its current approach there will be years more of litigation with outcomes showing the board’s positions are “baseless.” Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders told the bankruptcy court they may challenge all Oversight Board’s advisory fees. The group of opposing bondholders, which hold or insure 61% of PREPA’s…

  • Munis firmer, inflows into muni mutual funds continue

    &lt;img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/21620339/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /&gt; Municipals were firmer Thursday, as U.S. Treasury yields rallied and equities ended up. The two-year municipal to UST ratio Thursday was at 63%, the five-year at 64%, the 10-year at 67% and the 30-year at 86%, according to Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m. EST read. ICE Data Services had…

  • Bill restoring tax-exempt advance refunding introduced in House

    “This will lower borrowing costs and free up valuable resources to ensure our communities can continue to develop projects that advance economic growth,” said Indiana GOP Rep. Rudy Yakym of a bill that would restore tax-exempt advance refunding.Rep. Rudy Yakym’s office Cities, states and other municipal bond issuers would regain the ability to advance refund…

  • Hot inflation data sends yields soaring

    &amp;lt;img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/21601827/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /&amp;gt; Municipals sold off Wednesday, moving higher in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries after hotter-than-expected inflation data showed the Fed may not be able to cut rates this year. Equities ended mixed. Muni yields were cut six to 12 basis points Wednesday, depending on the curve, while UST yields rose eight…

  • Muni advocates won’t give up tax exemption without a fight

    Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Republican legislators have placed tax-exempt bonds on the regulatory chopping block — as the cost to renew expiring provisions of President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act continues to grow — putting municipal leaders in the eye of a storm.…

  • Puerto Rico board says it won’t improve offer to PREPA creditors

    Puerto Rico Oversight Board Executive Director Robert Mujica suggested non-settling bondholders might be offered recoveries of about 4% of the principal due.Darren McGee Office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul The Puerto Rico Oversight Board is saying it will not improve its offer to creditors of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The board will…

  • IRS budget under fire

    “They have rescinded over $20 billion in enforcement funds, and they have frozen another $20 billion in the previous continuing resolution,” said subcommittee ranking member Terri Sewell, D – Ala. “We need to fix this issue. Slashing funds is not the solution. The IRA funding is not an endless piggy bank for the majority.” Bloomberg News…

  • Munis steady, front-end ratios richen

    <img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/21560546/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Municipals were steady Monday as U.S. Treasuries were narrowly mixed and equities ended up. Munis continued their January rally heading into the first week of the month as the asset class saw gains of 0.43%, bringing year-to-date gains to 0.94%, said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet…

  • Huntington, in growth mode, adds Dan Kelly

    Huntington hired Dan Kelly as head of municipal underwriting. He joins the bank as it is in growth mode and chasing larger deals.Huntington Huntington hired Dan Kelly as head of municipal underwriting. The addition of the municipal finance industry veteran will bolster the Columbus, Ohio-based bank’s strategy of pursuing major clients and larger transactions, according…

  • Light shed on Edison’s potential liability in L.A. region’s east-side fires

    Electrical transmission lines near the Eaton Fire in Altadena. The Eaton Fire has become the fifth-deadliest in state history, killing at least 17 people, burning 14,021 acres and destroying 9,418 structures.Bloomberg News Southern California Edison reported to state regulators Thursday that its equipment may have played a role in sparking the Hurst Fire that burned…

  • Key Congressional staff meet with BDA, mum on tax exemption

    Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in 2017 led the charge to save tax-exempt private activity bonds that had been axed in an early House draft of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Al Drago/Bloomberg House and Senate tax staff and members seemed receptive to the Bond Dealers of America’s plea to preserve the municipal bond tax…