Bonds

In a majority vote, the California Public Employee Retirement System board came out against a state initiative headed for November’s ballot that would limit the ability of state and local governments to levy taxes and make pension contributions. The initiative, called the “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act,” would amend the California constitution altering the

Municipals saw spots of weakness on the short end of the curve while two high-grade issuers priced the largest deals left of the week, mutual funds saw smaller inflows and U.S. Treasuries closed the session softer 10-years and in, but a touch stronger out long. Equities rallied as the markets contemplated the better likelihood of

The Internal Revenue Service has finalized the rules monetizing clean energy tax credits, which frees up non-profit power companies to issue more debt that can be used to finance electrical infrastructure projects.   “Elective payment” was created by the Inflation Reduction Act and allows non-profit power companies to use tax credits created through green energy projects

State tax revenue collections are softening and some are even negative compared to a year earlier, analysts say. “Most states are now grappling with weakened tax revenues and growing uncertainties, particularly related to the presidential election, potential federal policy changes, and geopolitical crises,” said Urban Institute Principal Research Associate Lucy Dadayan. “Overall, growth in state

An effort by Utah lawmakers to keep a coal-fired power plant in operation poses risks to the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA), which issued bonds to finance its transition to cleaner fuels and has asked the governor to veto the legislation.   Senate Bill 161, which was passed by the legislature in late February would require IPA

The municipal primary market was active Tuesday while triple-A scales were little moved despite U.S. Treasury gains ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusion Wednesday. Various large new-issues were well-received and cleared the market Tuesday, with several repricing to lower yields. Despite several larger deals entering the primary, the large amounts of cash

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s new climate rule will hack away at the SEC’s already well-established materiality standard and will mandate disclosure rules that work for Wall Street banks but have little relevance to many public companies across the country. That’s according to local leaders from Tennessee testifying during the House Financial Services Subcommittee on

The number of Federal Reserve rate cuts expected this year has dwindled and the first one isn’t likely before June, analyst said, as inflation numbers continue to come in hotter-than-expected. While the market was initially expecting six or seven 25 basis point cuts this year, Gary Quinzel, vice president of portfolio consulting at Wealth Enhancement

Assured Guaranty has promoted two of its employees and brought on a former Citi employee to grow its new-issue and secondary market business. Marc Livolsi will now act as the firm’s U.S. Public Finance New Issue Marketing and Business Development, and Evan Boulukos will lead Assured’s Secondary Markets desk, both of whom will report to

Dealers are stepping up lobbying efforts and bringing the Municipal Bonds for America Coalition, a group headed by Bond Dealers of America, back into view as the tax debate begins again. The coalition, comprising investors, underwriters, municipal advisors, insurers and bond counsel has pounced on the idea of tax reform after President Biden made tax

Hawaii Department of Transportation airport division revenue bond ratings and bonds issued by the state backed by car rental fees were upgraded by Fitch Ratings, which cited full recovery on enplanements. Fitch upgraded the airport’s $1.7 billion in revenue bonds to AA-minus from A-plus and $111.6 million in certificates of participation to A-plus from A

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board held the first of its two stakeholder meetings on Thursday, gathering trade groups representing the professionals from which the board derives its fees to discuss its now abandoned rate card model, the volatility of its fees and how many of its fees and expenses are allocated. According to both members

Houston will end its eight-year-long impasse with its firefighters union under a $650 million settlement financed through the issuance of judgment bonds, Mayor John Whitmire announced Thursday. The agreement provides lump sum payments to current and retired firefighters to cover back wages owed while they worked without a contract since the last one expired in

Rich valuations 10-years and in, municipal outperformance to U.S. Treasuries and an overall drumbeat that supply is not meeting demand — yet cash sits sidelined — was the theme for the week. All else being equal, expectations for more of the same will greet the market next week, along with several New York credits and

Property insurers’ growing reluctance to insure homes exposed to severe weather should raise a red flag for the municipal bond market, which so far has shrugged off risks but will soon have to grapple with major climate-driven shifts in credit quality and bond prices. That’s according to panelists who spoke Thursday during a webinar titled

Municipals were weaker Thursday, but outperformed U.S. Treasury market losses, as the final large deals of the week priced, including several housing issues. Equities ended down. Municipal bond mutual fund inflows continued for the third consecutive week as LSEG Lipper reported investors put $295.5 million into the funds for the week ending Wednesday with high-yield

Fitch Ratings affirmed the A rating on Miami-Dade County, Florida’s $1.8 billion of senior lien seaport revenue bonds issued for the county’s seaport department, PortMiami. The rating outlook is stable. The senior lien bonds are secured by a first-lien pledge of seaport net revenues. Fitch has also rated the $442.5 million of the county’s Series

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as two billion-dollar-plus deals from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and CommonSpirit Health took focus. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 59%, the three-year at 59%, the five-year at 57%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year

Stifel has hired Joseph Narens, who spent a decade at Citi, to oversee the firm’s institutional high-yield trading across the firm’s municipal securities business line. Narens joined Stifel Wednesday as managing director and head of High Yield Municipal Trading. Prior to joining Stifel, Narens spent 10 years at Citi, most recently as the head of

Munis were steady as the primary market took focus with the $2.8 billion retail pricing from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities rallied after the Consumer Price Index showed inflation ticked up in February. Bond yields didn’t move much upon the CPI release, but Treasuries grew