Bonds

Huntington National Bank has brought on Citi’s entire Midwest public finance banking group, with Samantha Costanzo being named head of public finance, the fourth woman to lead a municipal banking division in the industry. She will be based in Chicago. Jurl Vinegar and Rupi Jain are also joining as director of public finance and associate

Loop Capital Markets has added four former Citi and UBS public finance professionals to its ranks, joining the growing list of firms to expand their banking teams in the muni space. John Malpiede, John Giammarino and Alain Garcia will be joining Loop Capital from Citi, and Candace Kelly is moving over from UBS.  “The additions

Municipals improved Wednesday, as U.S. Treasury yields fell five years and out and equities saw gains after Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated rate cuts are still set for this year. “The Fed wants to see continued evidence that inflation is moving closer to target,” said Jeff Lipton, managing director of credit research at Oppenheimer., who

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bond trustee said the Oversight Board’s proposed plan of adjustment breaches the bonds’ trust agreement. “There is a fundamental clash between the duties of bondholders to each other in the trust agreement and the three bondholder [plan support agreements (PSAs)] in the plan,” said bond trustee U.S. Bank N.A.

The primary market was the focus Tuesday, as several large deals priced to strong reception, led by an upsized pricing of $1.4 billion from the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority. Municipals were little changed in secondary trading, underperforming U.S. Treasuries, while equities were down near the close, as all markets await Federal Reserve

The bankers on a $167.9 million refunding say San Diego Community College District became the first community college in California to tender general obligation bonds in a deal that converted taxable debt into tax-exempt for savings. RBC managing directors Karma Pemba and Katherine Jacobson priced the debt for the community college on Feb. 8, achieving

The municipal primary kicked into swing Monday with New York City Municipal waters pricing for retail investors while the secondary was quiet in light trading leading to a steady tone, even as U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed near the close. In the primary market Monday, Siebert Williams Shank held a one-day retail

After years of soliciting market feedback, new Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rule G-46 on the duties of solicitor municipal advisors is in effect as of March 1, setting the stage for closer scrutiny from both municipal advisors and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Solicitor municipal advisors are a much smaller crowd than traditional municipal advisors

Congress is expected to begin voting next week on the first set of fiscal 2024 budget bills – five months into the fiscal year – after the parties reached another short-term deal to avert a government shutdown Friday. The two chambers on Thursday passed a stopgap bill that extends the deadline for four spending bills,

On Thursday the Internal Revenue Service provided updated guidance on how utility companies are allowed to use securitization to recover costs through rate increases to customers.   The new regulations are denoted by the IRS as Rev. Proc. 2024-15 which updates Rev. Proc. 2005-62. The ruling expands the definition of public utility companies to include publicly owned power

Municipals were little changed to end the week ahead of an estimated $6.1 billion new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries were firmer, and equities ended up. Muni yields were steady throughout the week, ignoring small but “well-behaved” UST movements, which stayed “in a relatively narrow range despite some important data releases,” according to Barclays PLC strategists Mikhail

The Ohio state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that included $1.27 billion in bonds for state government agency facilities, K-12 classrooms, local subdivisions’ capital improvement projects and conservation projects. The bill, HB 27, was originally intended only to give students more information about college fees and loan repayment. And Senate Democrats voiced reservations about

Hawaii lawmakers grilled the budget director Thursday as recovery costs for the Maui wildfire are coming in double expectations, putting the budget at risk. During a hearing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Budget Director Luis Salaveria was asked when Gov. Josh Green’s administration realized costs to temporarily house people displaced by the fire

Municipal bond mutual funds saw small inflows, the secondary market showed constructive trading with firmer prints in spots and the asset class is likely to see slightly positive returns for the month. Equities ended in the black, with the Nasdaq leading the rally. Triple-A yields were bumped a basis point or two, depending on the

A bill that includes additional bonding authority for a University of Utah Health medical campus project hit with ballooning costs passed the legislature Wednesday.  A provision in Senate Bill 241 would increase the amount of revenue bonds for the West Valley Health and Community Center to $800 million from $400 million. The University of Utah

Puerto Rico leaders and analysts highlighted fiscal risks facing Puerto Rico’s central government, including a change in how multinationals are taxed, that could, if unresolved, jeopardize future bond payments. At the Puerto Rico Oversight Board meeting Wednesday, board Executive Director Robert Mujica Jr. said the government faced major risks in the coming fiscal years, including

Proponents of the Modernizing Agricultural and Manufacturing Bonds Act which could expand aggie bond issuance are pessimistic about the possibility of any congressional movement this year.  Versions of MAMBA have been bouncing around in both houses of Congress since 2017 as a proposed bipartisan update to regulations governing aggie bonds. The legislation is also designed

Municipals were steady in secondary trading Tuesday as several large deals in the primary market took focus, including the retail pricing for the $1.5 billion-plus deal of general obligation bonds from New York City. U.S. Treasury yields rose 10 years and out and equities were mixed near the end of the trading session. Other large

Oklahoma will stop collecting state sales tax on groceries under a bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Kevin Stitt, who said he is still seeking a reduction in personal income taxes. The elimination of the 4.5% sales tax, which will cost the state around $400 million annually, was overwhelmingly passed by lawmakers. “By cutting

Municipals were steady to start the week as investors await the larger new-issue slate, outperforming U.S. Treasuries, while equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 58%, the three-year at 57%, the five-year at 56%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year at 81%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s