Bonds

The municipal secondary was quiet after a volatile week that moved municipal rates higher and ratios into a range that investors say are a more satisfactory level to engage in the asset class following months of stagnant rates. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed Friday while U.S. Treasuries ended the week at lower yields — sub

Federal authorities dropped the hammer Thursday on the former head of fixed income trading at the now defunct Atlanta-based IFS Securities Inc. for allegedly engaging in unauthorized and speculative trading activity that bankrupted the firm. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed criminal and civil

September municipal bond issuance volume fell 32.6% year-over-year as a massive drop in taxable and refunding issuance puts the market slightly behind 2020’s record-breaking pace. Total September volume was $36.085 billion in 856 deals versus $53.513 billion in 1,395 issues a year earlier. Taxable issuance totaled $6.533 billion in 152 issues, down 63.6% from $17.945

Municipals were slightly weaker outside of five years Wednesday, with triple-A benchmarks cutting levels by a basis point or two, after four days of a correction to higher yields not seen since February and March of this year. U.S. Treasuries pulled back from Tuesday’s losses earlier in the morning, but yields rose into the afternoon

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his counterparts at the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank of England voiced cautious optimism Wednesday that supply-chain disruptions lifting inflation rates around the world would ultimately prove temporary. “The current inflation spike is really a consequence of supply constraints meeting very strong demand, and that is

Tarrant County, Texas, will be authorized to issue $400 million of transportation bonds if voters approve the proposal Nov. 2. The bond issue by the fast-growing county that includes Fort Worth and its booming suburbs would be its first for transportation since 2006. Proposition A splits the $400 million into two categories. Half of the

State and local governments would be encouraged to consider public-private partnerships for complicated projects like rural broadband or large transportation developments under the bipartisan infrastructure bill being debated by Congress this week. The legislation doubles private activity bond volume for surface transportation projects to $30 billion from $15 billion, a central financing tool for P3

WASHINGTON — Robert Kaplan, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, announced that he would step down next week, just hours after Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said he would resign. Kaplan said Monday afternoon he wanted “to eliminate any distractions” at the Fed after it was revealed that he had engaged in

Delays because of regulatory scrutiny will likely push back the timing of Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health’s proposed merger as the federal government seeks more information about it amid a backlog of filings to review. The Michigan-based systems announced their intention to merge by signing a letter of intent in June. One month later, the

Problems distributing ballots to potential voters on the Puerto Rico Plan of Adjustment have led to calls to push back the Oct. 4 voting deadline, and this may potentially push back the plan confirmation. The Official Committee of Retired Employees on Thursday filed a motion to have the deadline pushed from 5 p.m., Oct. 4

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 24 bills that allocate $15 billion to further the state’s efforts to combat climate change, drought and wildfires. The total includes additional funding agreed to by the Legislature after the $261.4 billion budget was passed by the constitutional deadline and signed by the governor in July, but also some funding

Cities have spent the last decade seeking the kind of federal support found in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that the House may vote on as soon as Monday, said mayors and representatives from the National Urban League in a press conference today. “Mayors in the U.S. have been in infrastructure week for over a decade

Municipal yields edged higher Friday as selling pressure emerged early and buyers greeted it by demanding some concessions, though municipals still outperformed taxables by a large degree on the week. Triple-A benchmark yields rose another two to three basis points, moving the municipal 10-year to 1% on both Refinitiv MMD and ICE Data Services scales.

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives could approve next week restructured bonds for the Puerto Rico bankruptcy, which may move the process along. House Speaker Rafael Hernández Montañez plans to submit a bill to allow the sale ofrestructured bonds consistent with the proposed Plan of Adjustment, said Lilliam Maldonado, spokesperson for Rep. Jesús Santa Rodríguez,

Muni issuers are considering and beginning to roll out blockchain based solutions, including distributed ledger technology for various muni projects, but the market remains nascent. The introduction of blockchain and its use of digital ledger technology caught market attention in 2016 as a banking alternative that could transform operating systems, and for munis, promised the

Municipals could not ignore broader markets and triple-A scales cut levels by two to three basis points along the curve, but again largely outperformed a major risk-on trade Thursday that moved U.S. Treasuries to trade off double digits while equities boomed. Secondary trading showed weaker prints into the early afternoon. Large blocks of benchmark credits

Newark, New Jersey has spent the last two years replacing 22,000 lead service lines and crafting a plan to expand Internet access to all residents, Mayor Ras J. Baraka said today during a Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research briefing. But a fresh influx of federal cash for broadband and clean water programs

Municipals sat tight again Wednesday as broader markets digested the Federal Open Market Committee leaving interest rates unchanged and noting the tapering process may begin sooner. The news was largely expected and U.S. Treasuries ended the day a touch firmer while equities made up for lost ground though pared back earlier gains. “The biggest news

After consulting with House Ways and Means staff, Citi’s municipal strategy group believes a proposed 3% high income surcharge that’s part of the reconciliation budget package will likely not apply to tax-exempt interest. The position revises Citi’s warning earlier this week that the surcharge may apply to tax-exempt municipal income, a move that would have

S&P Global Ratings has singled out states’ underfunding of retiree medical benefits as a key credit risk for states. States continued to sharply underfund their OPEB plans and unfunded liabilities ticked upward in fiscal 2020, S&P analysts reported in their annual survey published Monday. During the economic expansion preceding the pandemic, few states pursued and