Bonds

Municipals were slightly firmer Tuesday as new-issues from the New York Thruway Authority and the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency’s Children’s Hospital were well-received. U.S. Treasuries were mixed as were equities ahead of the Fed rates decision Wednesday. Triple-A yields were bumped one to four basis points, depending on the curve, while UST saw yields fall

The University of Washington’s outlook was revised to negative from stable by Moody’s Investors Service and its Aaa issuer rating affirmed ahead of its plans to issue tax-exempt revenue bonds next week. The negative outlook “was driven by the university’s thinning operating performance that reflects both expense pressures in the university’s own operations as well

The biggest municipal bond deal of the week is coming to market on Tuesday even as a state lawmaker is proposing to abolish the very authority that is issuing the debt. The New York State Thruway Authority this week is bringing $1.027 billion of Series P general revenue bonds in a transaction led by J.P.

Municipals were little changed to start the week, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were up late in the trading session. The muni market enters 2024 with “stable credit fundamentals, supportive demand/supply dynamics, and low [muni-UST] ratios and compressed credit spreads,” said Adam Stern, co-head of research at Breckinridge. On the technical front, he

Accounting errors are a key factor driving Alaska’s Juneau School District into a shortfall amounting to more than 10% of its operating budget. But other underlying causes of the deficit are ones faced by other school districts in the state. Flat state funding and the end of pandemic-era federal relief funds combined with an aging

Market participants are upbeat with predictions about an economy showing few signs of recession, a record-breaking stock market and a Federal Reserve that is expected to start ratcheting down interest rates.  Fresh economic data showing gross domestic product growing by an annual rate of 3.3% has bond issuers and ratings agency forecasters feeling bullish about

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has approved amendments to Rule G-27 on dealer supervision that are designed to help dealers better adapt to changes brought on by remote work. That was approved during the MSRB’s quarterly board meeting, where the board welcomed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler in attendance for his yearly visit,

After two consecutive years of investors pulling money from muni mutual funds, January has gotten off to a better start as the market has seen the return on inflows.  “The driver of the improvement in net fund flows is not necessarily new buyers coming into the market; it’s the conclusion of tax loss swap selling

Municipals were lightly traded and little changed Friday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar amid the Federal Open Market Committee meeting while U.S. Treasuries were weaker. Equities were mixed to close the session. Rates have continued creeping higher and muni yields have been following, as the “positive effect of the year-end technicals has finally started

The list of investment banks no longer eligible to underwrite municipal bonds in Texas due to their lack of compliance with state laws aimed at protecting the fossil fuel and firearm industries grew on Friday with the addition of Barclays.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced that “until further notice, we will not approve

Municipals saw a more constructive secondary trading session Thursday and mutual funds reported the third consecutive week of inflows while U.S. Treasuries improved. Stocks continued to break records after another report of hotter economic data, which is leading more participants to pare back rate cut timing expectations. LSEG Lipper reported Thursday that investors added $210.6

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges against Chicago-based investment advisor Aon Investments and in a separate action, the firm’s former partner Claire Shaughnessy for misleading the Pennsylvania Public Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) on a certain discrepancy when calculating investment returns. Without admitting or denying the findings, both Aon and Shaughnessy consented to the

Municipals were little changed Wednesday amid another busy primary session as U.S. Treasury yields rose throughout most of the curve and equities ended up. Despite municipal performance being in the red to start to 2023, municipal mutual funds continue to see inflows. The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported more inflows into municipal bond mutual funds

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green highlighted $373 million of infrastructure and housing spending in his supplemental fiscal 2025 budget, calling it his administration’s top statewide priority during his State of the State speech. He also renewed a call for a climate change impact fee expected to collect $50 million that he said would have helped cover

Municipals were weaker in spots amid an active primary market that saw a billion-dollar-plus retail order from the Regents of the University of California price and Washington sell just shy of $1 billion general obligation bonds in the competitive market. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio

Capital Markets Advisors and its two co-principals Richard Ganci and Richard Tortora, former municipal advisors for the City of Rochester, New York, are in a legal back and forth with the Securities and Exchange Commission over whether the municipal advisor’s conduct constitutes a conflict of interest as defined in MSRB Rule G-42. That’s the latest

Municipals were mixed Monday ahead of a heavy new-issue slate while U.S. Treasuries were better and equities saw smaller gains after last week’s record-breaking moves. Munis continue to struggle in 2024, with the asset class seeing negative returns of 1.01% so far this year. This is a turnaround “from the last quarter of 2023 in

Allan Katz has been named chief financial officer at Siebert Williams Shank, the firm announced on Monday. Katz comes to Siebert from Guggenheim Securities, where he was also CFO. Katz is well known for guiding operational improvement and expense control in the financial services sector, the firm said.  Guggenheim Securities is a FINRA-regulated broker-dealer. Katz was there

A Congress that just narrowly avoided a government shutdown is getting a fresh wish list from a wide cross section of organizations of issuers, including calls for preserving the tax exemption on municipal bonds.   The letter originates from the Public Finance Network, which encompasses twenty-four issuer organizations including the Government Finance Officers Association, the National

The Illinois Supreme Court Friday upheld pension consolidation legislation championed by Gov. JB Pritzker that was challenged in court by more than a dozen suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds.  The case, Arlington Heights Police Pension Fund et al. v. JB Pritzker et al., had pitted the governor and General Assembly against a