Category: Bonds

A legal battle between the Missouri attorney general and dozens of school districts over mask mandates could strain ratings, S&P Global Ratings warns. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt warned school districts in a letter Dec. 7 of potential enforcement actions if they continued to enforce local health mandates thrown out in November in a ruling…

Municipal bond issuers in the Southwest sold $90.8 billion of debt in 2021, down 3.2% from 2020, according to Refinitiv data, as lost refunding volume outpaced a gain in new-money sales. Texas weighed down the region, as volume in the Lone Star State fell 12% to $52.4 billion, outpacing gains in some other fast-growing Southwest…

A coming tide of infrastructure money is about to smack into a sharp rise in construction costs. In Miami Beach, the developers of a proposed monorail said last month that the price tag had nearly doubled, to $1 billion from $587 million. Some of the uptick came from a design change, but the biggest chunk…

The government will stay open until mid-March under the latest short-term spending measure, but much of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding issuers are eagerly awaiting remains on hold without a full-year budget. The Senate Thursday passed the new continuing resolution, which funds the government through March 11. The 65-27 vote averted a partial…

Michigan State University got a rating outlook boost as it heads into the market with a $500 million century bond. S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on its AA rating to stable from negative ahead of the deal, citing the university’s management through the operational turbulence caused by the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. The…

The Federal Reserve formally adopted tough, sweeping restrictions on officials’ investing and trading, aiming to prevent a repeat of the ethics scandal that engulfed the U.S. central bank last year. The changes codify new guidelines announced in October to restrict active trading, prohibit the purchase of individual securities and boost disclosure requirements among policymakers and senior staff…

Triple-A benchmark yields fell further Friday, as U.S. Treasuries were better in a continued flight-to-safety bid, while equities ended in the red again. Traders and managers reported a firm tone and trading showed it on Friday ahead of next week’s lower new-issue calendar. “It’s pretty quiet,” a New York trader said on Friday afternoon, pointing…

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board is appealing the approved Plan of Adjustment’s treatment of up to $400 million of eminent domain claims. The claims against Puerto Rico will currently be paid in full or, in some cases, at high rates to the claimants and the board would like them to be paid at the rate…

Puerto Rico’s government is exploring refinancing its Puerto Rico Sales Tax Finance Corporation’s bonds, also known as COFINA bonds, a move some say could allow the commonwealth to see cost savings as it also works toward restructuring its general obligation bonds. The Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority has requested pre-qualified investment banks…

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said she supports raising interest rates next month and tightening policy at a faster pace if needed to curb inflation. “I believe it will be appropriate to move the funds rate up in March and follow with further increases in the coming months,” Mester said Thursday in…

The unwillingness of the majority of Puerto Rico’s senators to approve money for the commonwealth’s debt restructuring raises questions about Puerto Rico’s willingness to pay its debt, analysts said. Puerto Rico Senate Pres. José Luis Dalmau Santiago on Wednesday decided to not bring the proposed amendment for the current year’s budget to a vote when…

Republicans’ procedural blockade of President Biden’s Federal Reserve nominees has left Senate Democrats with few options and could delay for months the revamp of the central bank’s board, according to analysts and political strategists. The 12 GOP members of the Senate Banking Committee decided not to show Tuesday for a scheduled vote by the panel,…

The municipal market’s top federal priority, tax-exempt advance refunding, made a surprise appearance Tuesday during a House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing on the economic impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. “In addition to federal investments, we must also make an investment in helping local and state governments get the resources they need…

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved money for the central government’s Plan of Adjustment Tuesday, setting the stage for dollars to begin flowing to bondholders who have not been paid since the island defaulted on its debt in 2016. The measure authorizes spending $10.9 billion from past years’ revenues for paying various Plan of…

Co-heads of municipals at Baird Advisors, Duane McAllister and Lyle Fitterer, discuss the challenging environment in the first month and a half of 2022 and where risks and opportunities lie in a volatile investing landscape. Lynne Funk hosts. (29 minutes). Transcription below: Lynne Funk: (00:03)Hello, and welcome to another Bond Buyer podcast. I’m Lynne Funk…

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he would vote to confirm Sarah Bloom Raskin to be the Federal Reserve’s next vice chair for supervision. Speaking to Yahoo Finance on Monday, Tester — considered a centrist voice on the Senate Banking Committee — said that he would vote to advance Raskin’s nomination out of the…

A founder of a fintech firm that President Biden’s nominee for the top bank supervisory post at the Federal Reserve worked for after serving in the Obama administration said Friday that Republican allegations that she behaved unethically in interacting with a regional Fed bank are “completely false.” Sarah Bloom Raskin’s “conduct was appropriate, ethical and…

How much debt does New York State have outstanding and how is it issued? The answer for inquiring investors is “It may be more than you imagine.” The nonpartisan Volcker Alliance released an issue paper on Feb. 3 that takes an in-depth look at the Empire State’s municipal bonds and other debts the state owes…

New York State and its numerous public authorities and agencies owe $186.6 billion to bondholders, the federal government, and future retirees, among others. Without borrowing, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority wouldn’t have been able to keep the subway running during the COVID-19 pandemic and the state unemployment trust fund wouldn’t have had enough cash to pay…

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives rejected a measure allocating money for bondholders and other payments connected with the court-approved Plan of Adjustment. Shortly after midnight Friday the House voted 25-21 in favor of the joint resolution, which would have amended the current year’s budget, one vote short of the needed majority for passage. Puerto…