Bonds

The top bond counsel firms combined for a total of $200.965 billion in 4,673 transactions during the first half of the year, down from the $222.162 billion in 6,177 deals over the same period in 2021. Only two firms remained in the same spot at this point last year: Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Norton

The U.S. Treasury curve remains inverted — a historical signal of a recession on the horizon — deepening the challenge that Federal Reserve faces to control inflation without pushing a weakening economy into recession, as traders position ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s rate hike decision Wednesday. The municipal market has been quiet this

Public finance attorney, tax expert and National Association of Bond Lawyers board member Johnny Hutchinson has left Squire Patton Bogg’s Houston office to join Nixon Peabody as a partner. Hutchinson has extensive experience with private activity bond financings, federally tax-advantaged debt transactions, defending issuers and borrowers against Internal Revenue Service audits, helping clients resolve tax

Issuers and borrowers should watch out for phishing scams in their communications with the IRS’ Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, as there have been instances in recent months of scammers posing as IRS representatives. John Stanley, a tax and public finance partner at Orrick and Joseph Santiesteban, private and data innovation partner at Orrick,

Tribal governments pay 22% to 87% higher borrowing costs on municipal bonds compared to state and local entities, according to a new paper presented at the Brookings Institution Municipal Finance Conference.  The resulting increases in annual interest payments for average tribal issuers range from $79,000 to $310,000 greater than their nontribal counterparts, according to the

A senior U.S. Republican lawmaker accused China of a broad campaign to obtain confidential information from the Federal Reserve, including recruiting central bank staffers and detaining a Fed employee visiting Shanghai. The report, from Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, said the Fed’s own investigations had identified several employees with connections to Chinese talent recruiters, as well

Municipals were little changed Monday while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed near the close. With a steady muni yield curve and weaker USTs, muni to UST ratios on Monday fell slightly. They were at 67% in five years, 85% in 10 years and 98% in 30 years, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3

Cleveland heads into the market this week with an upgrade helped along by its decision to tap surpluses to bolster reserve levels. Moody’s Investors Service raised the city’s rating to Aa3 from A1 while S&P Global Ratings affirmed its AA-plus. Both assign a stable outlook.Moody’s action recognizes a “strengthening of fund balance and liquidity,” analysts

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index held at minus 0.19 in June, the first back-to-back negative readings since the pandemic started in early 2020. The three-month average, which smooths out monthly volatility, slipped to minus 0.04 in June from 0.09 a month earlier. Periods of economic expansion have historically been associated with

President Joe Biden has nominated Shailen Bhatt, a former state transportation official with public-private partnership experience, to lead the Federal Highway Administration. The FHWA has been without an administrator since Biden took office. Deputy director Stephanie Pollack, who has been leading the department, reportedly did not want the top spot. If the Senate confirms the

Puerto Rico general fund net revenue for the first 11 months of fiscal year 2022 was 12.8% above the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s most recent projection. In the July 2021 to May 2022 period revenue was also 16.8% above the same months a year earlier, according to information released Friday. Puerto Rico’s general fund revenue

Chicago could use fines generated from its automated speed enforcement cameras for public safety pension contributions under legislation proposed by a Republican state lawmaker. “Speed cameras are a function of public safety. It just makes sense that the revenue they generate goes back into keeping our streets safe,” said state Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield. “This

Texas is a hot spot of convention center financing with Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin readying expansion projects on the premise that a bigger venue will attract bigger shows and generate larger revenues and economic benefits. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — which brought trade shows to an abrupt halt in 2020 —

Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.8% in June as the state’s labor force continued to grow, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity. The state’s unemployment rate has declined or held steady for 23 straight months, DEO said Friday. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6% in June. Florida’s labor force grew by

Investors will be greeted Monday with the smallest new-issue calendar year-to-date ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July meeting where rates are anticipated to be hiked at least three-quarters of a point. To end the week, munis were firmer, underperforming the extended U.S. Treasuries rally where yields again fell double-digit basis points. Equities ended

The dismissal of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s lawsuit to block the Treasury Department from clawing back some pandemic relief money highlights both the complexities of state compliance with federal guidance and the antagonism that exists between certain states and the Biden administration. But while Ducey was unable to make his case in federal court this

The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee passed a binding plebiscite on Puerto Rico’s status Wednesday but immediately faced opposition by some United States-based diaspora groups. The bill would offer Puerto Rico voters three options: statehood, independence, or sovereignty in free association with the United States. The current status — remaining a territory —

As the U.S. airline industry appears to shake off the lingering effects of the pandemic, experts expect a rapid return to profitability and previously predicted growth. After a staggering 96% drop in the volume of domestic air travel shortly after the adoption of travel restrictions in March of 2020, passenger flight rates have rebounded to

Michigan drew an upgrade from Fitch Ratings over analysts’ view that a rebuilding of reserves and cash balances along with flush tax collections and conservative budgeting strengthens the state’s edge in weathering a future downtown. The upgrade to AA-plus from AA impacts $1 billion of outstanding general obligation debt and the Michigan School Bond Qualification

Citigroup Inc.’s municipal-bond business, for decades a powerhouse in the $4 trillion market for U.S. state and city debt, has seen a wave of high-profile departures as the bank revamps parts of the group’s trading and banking units. The bank in recent months shuttered its muni proprietary trading unit — which used the firm’s own