Category: Bonds

Municipals were weaker on Tuesday, most pronounced on the short end again, while U.S. Treasuries pared back some losses but the curve remained inverted while equities rallied after Ukraine and Russia signaled they are open to talks. Triple-A municipal yield curves saw cuts up to five basis points on the short end while the three-year…

Transcription:00;00;03;16 – 00;00;24;27Chip BarnettHi and welcome to another Bond Buyer podcast. I’m Chip Barnett. My guest today is Nora Wittstruck. She’s senior director and ESG sector leader at S&P Global Ratings. And we’re going to be talking about climate change and sea level rise and how it’s going to affect South Florida and many other…

Municipals were weaker Monday, moving the five-year muni above 2% while the U.S. Treasury curve inverted and equities ended in the black. Triple-A municipal yield curves saw cuts up to six basis points on the short end while the three- and five-year UST ended higher than the 30-year. Muni to UST ratios were at 78%…

Four and half years after hurricanes Maria and Irma battered Puerto Rico, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, federal reconstruction aid is still ramping up and analysts say that money could be structured to do more for the territory’s economy as it emerges from bankruptcy. The federal government has allocated $71.5 billion of hurricane reconstruction funds…

In 2008, a consortium of private firms offered Pennsylvania $12.8 billion for a 75-year lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Then-Gov. Edward Rendell favored the deal, saying it would mean $1 billion annually for the state’s aging roads and bridges over the next decade. But many lawmakers, voters and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission opposed the deal.…

Ten states reached full pre-pandemic employment levels in January, according to Fitch Ratings. Five of these states are in the Southeast — Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Arkansas — while Montana, Utah, Idaho, Texas and Arizona also hit the milestone during the first month of the year, Fitch said in a report released Thursday.…

Investors could face a run on money market funds in the coming months as interest rate increases and liquidity concerns begin to mount, potentially impacting the market for certain types of municipal debt. The threat was articulated in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s March 2022 report on money market fund vulnerabilities. “From their…

Municipal yields rose Friday to close out a rough week, with the short end of the curve again seeing the brunt of the damage, with double-digit cuts to triple-A scales. U.S. Treasuries yields rose another 14-15 basis points on the short end, while equities ended mixed. Munis saw up to 12 basis point cuts on…

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board conditionally approved renewable energy agreements that are projected to save the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority millions and expand its reliance on renewables. On Friday the Puerto Rico Oversight Board said it conditionally approved 18 power purchase and operating agreements between the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and 15 companies…

Illinois in on track to put $2.7 billion of its American Rescue Plan Act relief toward paying down a $4.5 billion federal loan needed to cover the COVID-19-induced spike in unemployment claims. Bonds, unemployment insurance premiums and benefit cuts are the subjects of negotiations with business and labor about how to cover the balance. Senate…

Municipals were hit hard Thursday with up to nine basis point cuts on the short end, but the damage was felt across the curve. U.S. Treasury yields rose while equities rallied in another see-saw day for markets. Trading was weaker out of the gates, with large blocks of high-grades changing hands at higher yields. Long…

Former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey has been chosen to be the next president of New York City Transit. New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber announced Wednesday that Davey will oversee operations for the city’s subways, buses, paratransit services and the Staten Island Railway. Public service and more importantly public transportation is…

Lawyers for Preston Hollow Capital LLC and Nuveen Investments will square off Thursday over summary judgment requests and what expert testimony should be heard when PHC’s defamation allegations potentially go to trial this summer. Dallas-based PHC’s legal pursuit of the Chicago-based investment powerhouse forges on two years after a Delaware Chancery Court judge concluded the…

Municipals sold off double-digit basis points Tuesday following continued market volatility and a rapidly rising U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut up to 12 basis points, with the asset class unable to ignore the ongoing pressure from U.S. Treasuries, which saw yields rise another basis points . The Refinitiv MMD 10-year spot has…

The U.S. Virgin Islands is extending its tender offer to holders of some of its outstanding matching fund bonds to Friday, in advance of an expected refunding of nearly $1 billion of the remaining bonds next week. The Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority and Matching Fund Special Purpose Securitization Corporation originally solicited bondholders to participate…

The United States Environmental Protection Agency formally invited the Sites Reservoir Authority to apply for a $2.2 billion loan, energizing the long-delayed massive storage project in northern California. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan announcement last week comes on top of word from the California Department of Water Resources on Wednesday that the…

Municipals were steady to weaker in spots Monday, while U.S. Treasuries sold off amid Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell warning about widespread inflation and talks over hiking interest rates quicker than the Fed initially planned last week. As a result, muni-to-UST ratios fell. The five-year was at 72%, 85% in 10-years and 92% in…

The U.S. Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates higher than officials are currently projecting if it is to wrestle inflation back under control, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said. While the central bank this week increased its benchmark rate by 25 basis points for the first time since 2018 and saw the…

Investors in municipal bonds should take into account that rising interest rates this year could lead bonds trading at a discount to be less liquid than those trading at par value, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board warned Friday. Investors should also monitor their portfolios for bonds falling to a significant discount price, according to the…

DPC DATA has integrated climate and social risk scores into a product that uses Spatial Risk Systems’ (SRS) geospatial data, mapping physical climate risk and carbon transition risk for more than 25,000 muni obligors. MuniESG Solutions was created in response to demand from DPC’s clients for climate risk data as the key component of a…