Bonds

July municipal bond issuance dropped 32% year-over-year, with many issuers holding back as they awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike. The smaller figure was led once again by dramatic drops in taxable and refunding volumes. Total July volume was $25.598 billion in 520 deals versus $37.573 billion in 1,013 issues a year earlier, according

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said he was concerned the Federal Reserve is still engaging in “wishful thinking” about how much it will take to bring inflation down from four-decade highs. “Jay Powell said things that, to be blunt, were analytically indefensible,” Summers said on Bloomberg TV. “There is no conceivable way that a 2.5%

As environmental disclosure becomes increasingly important to municipal investors, a new snapshot of U.S. cities sheds light on hundreds of infrastructure projects planned by the cities to mitigate climate exposure. The U.S. Infrastructure Snapshot Report is produced by nonprofit CDP, which runs an annual environmental disclosure platform for companies, cities, states and regions. The report

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board pointed to progress in negotiations in its attempt to convince the bankruptcy judge to extend the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority mediation period for several more weeks. Progress has particularly been made regarding securities structure, the board said in a filing with Judge Laura Taylor Swain Wednesday. Swain is considering

Municipals were stronger and inflows returned Thursday, following a rally in U.S. Treasuries after GDP numbers came in weaker for the second month in a row and a day after the Fed hiked rates 75 basis points. Equities ended in the black. Triple-A municipal yields fell up to eight basis points, depending on the scale,

Municipal credit quality has reached its peak and several sectors are vulnerable to stronger economic and political headwinds that are likely to impair credit and rating trends for the rest of 2022 and beyond. This is according to a report from Municipal Market Analytics, which revised down its credit outlook for several sectors including hospitals,

West Virginia’s Treasurer Riley Moore on Thursday placed five companies on a state-mandated list of restricted financial institutions which he has deemed engage in a “boycott of energy companies.” The five financial firms which are now ineligible for state banking contacts are BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley

There are no happy surprises for the municipal bond market in the surprise budget reconciliation bill unveiled by Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin Wednesday night. As has been the case with the last several iterations, the legislation fails to include any muni market wishes, like tax-exempt advance refunding. And the bill continues to

Property owners in the path of Oklahoma Turnpike extensions contend their litigation should prevent a state oversight board’s approval of initial bonds for the $5 billion, 15-year plan. The Oklahoma Council of Bond Oversight had been scheduled to consider up to $450 million of new Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) revenue bonds and $50 million of

Walt Disney couldn’t dream up a rollercoaster to rival the curves that California’s fiscal policymakers have had to navigate over the past two decades. In an historically short time frame, the state experienced the 2000 energy crisis that forced out then-Gov. Gray Davis; paid off $7 billion of deficit bonds issued by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced administrative actions and legislative proposals that are aimed at “protecting residents from the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement.” Saying ESG threatens the vitality of the American economy and economic freedom by targeting disfavored individuals and industries to advance what it calls a woke ideological agenda, DeSantis is proposing legislation

Municipals were firmer following the Fed’s decision to hike rates another 75 basis points, while U.S. Treasuries rallied on the short end and equities ended up. Despite this being another “outsize rate increase” of 75 basis points, Brian Coulton, chief economist for Fitch Ratings, said “the Fed has still only raised interest rates back into

Taxable municipal issuance has plummeted this year as the shock of rising interest rates made the financing vehicle less enticing for issuers, both economically and psychologically.  From becoming a replacement for tax-exempt advance refundings lost to 2017 tax law changes to broadening the investor base for munis, taxables have played a larger role in the

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s four enforcement actions this year were all leveled against municipal issuers, a signal that the Commission could be taking a more holistic approach when looking at municipal securities violations. This year, the Commission has charged issuers and related officials from Rochester, New York, Crosby Independent School District in Harris County,

Controversy and contentiousness are nothing new in Louisiana politics and ideology intruded into the financial realm once again as the Louisiana Bond Commission had to come to grips with funding, financing, and politics at last week’s meeting. While the commission approved up to $1.7 billion of bond issuance for Louisiana Community Development Authority projects at

The mediators handling the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority mediation asked Wednesday for the deadline to be extended from Aug. 1 until Aug. 15.  Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain had set 11:59 p.m. Aug. 1 as the deadline for the Oversight Board to achieve a proposed plan of adjustment, a plan term sheet,

Urban renewal might not be the first association the average saver or even fund manager may make with the word “pension.” But the long-term, “patient” capital invested in pensions can play a big role in the regeneration of our cities.  Urban renewal calls to mind small, industrial sections of a city fallen into ruin that

Municipals were firmer Tuesday ahead of the conclusion of the July Federal Open Market Committee meeting where a three-quarter point rate hike is likely, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities sold off. Triple-A curves saw yields fall up to five basis points, depending on the scale, while U.S. Treasuries rose up to three basis

The latest version of a much-negotiated spending bill that Senate Democrats hope to pass before the end of next week features a provision that’s key to the stability of the nonprofit health care sector, market participants said. After passing the House in December as a $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation that encompassed President Joe

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot laid out three options to make over Soldier Field as part of the last-ditch effort to keep the National Football League’s Chicago Bears from leaving the nearly 100-year-old stadium for a new venue in the suburbs. The price tag ranges from $900 million to $2.2 billion, but the pitch lacked any