Bonds

SK Battery America, a subsidiary of South Korean firm SK On, one of the world’s largest battery makers, is scaling back production on several fronts in response to a changing market for the vehicles. As an EV market turbocharged by federal incentives and high-set expectations cools off and major producers weigh cost-saving measures, SK said

The fine print of a revised fiduciary rule proposed by the Biden administration carries a potential impact on the corner of the municipal market that engages in “riskless principal transactions” for taxable munis. The Department of Labor’s proposed Retirement Security Rule would increase regulations around which kind of financial advice and transactions on retirement accounts

The Biden administration’s Build America Bureau expects to close on $19.5 billion worth of transportation infrastructure projects in the next 18 months, executive director Morteza Farajian said Tuesday at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials annual meeting in Indianapolis. “There’s a huge increase in the number of projects that we have in

Moody’s Investors Service affirmed its negative outlook on mass transit, highlighting Bay Area Rapid Transit as an example, even after the San Francisco rapid transit system announced it had received state funding. BART, a San Francisco Bay Area rapid transit system, announced on Wednesday that it would receive $352 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission

With the acceleration of technology in all markets, firms are trying to create solutions to process data — from issuer offering documents and continuing disclosures to trades and pricing and evaluations — and turn it into digestible, usable forms. For an illiquid, over-the-counter market with more than 50,000 issuers and a million securities outstanding, challenges

While pursuing his doctorate in economics at Columbia University, Oliver Giesecke came across several challenges as he was researching and collecting data on the muni market. Either it wasn’t available or it was incomplete or at times, misleading. In an effort to provide more and clearer data on certain attributes of the muni market, Giesecke,

Municipals improved Friday to close out a week of more gains despite some U.S. Treasury volatility, positioning the asset class to see historically high returns for the month. Equities ended up near the end of the trading session. Triple-A yields fell up to four basis points, depending on the curve, outperforming a mixed UST market,

While New York City’s $110.5 billion fiscal 2024 budget remains balanced, the costs associated with dealing with the influx of migrants will soar over the next several fiscal years, according to the November financial plan update released Thursday. So far, the city has already spent $1.45 billion in fiscal 2023 to provide food, shelter and

Municipals were firmer Thursday as a billion-plus dollar deal from the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority priced in the primary market and outflows continued. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended down. Triple-A yields fell one to five basis points, depending on the scale, while UST were better by six to 10. The two-year

The judge in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy case rejected the bond parties’ objections to the Oversight Board’s supplemental disclosure statement, a major step toward confirming the deal, which sets recovery for some bondholders at as little as 3.5% of par. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain asked the board to make minor

Municipals were mostly steady Wednesday as investors worked through more new-issue paper in the primary while U.S. Treasuries lost ground after Tuesday’s rally. Equities were mixed near the close. The dust settled Wednesday following Tuesday’s rally, as municipals were flat, according to a New York trader.  “Everyone is reevaluating and taking a breather after the

As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act nears its second anniversary, the Biden administration is still striving to close the gap between awarding transportation grants and actually getting the cash to the states and cities that have won the money. Shortening that timeline remains a top priority for the administration, Federal Highway Administration CFO Brian

Municipals were firmer across the curve, but underperformed a U.S. Treasury rally after a lower consumer price index report indicated the Federal Reserve may soon be done hiking rates. Equities also rallied. “The Fed looks smart for effectively ending its tightening cycle as inflation continues to slow,” said Bryce Doty, senior vice president and senior

After a lawsuit-driven delay, financing is beginning to flow for a major economic development deal between Georgia and electric vehicle maker Rivian. The Georgia Office for Economic Development and the Joint Development Authority for Morgan, Walton Counties announced last week they closed on $5 billion of project revenue bonds and executed a rental agreement with

Moody’s Investors Service revised its rating outlook for the Aaa-rated District of Columbia to negative Monday, matching its Friday action on the United States government. At the same time, the rating agency affirmed the Aaa issuer ratings and stable outlooks of Florida, Maryland and Virginia. The actions follow Friday’s outlook revision on the United States

Tender option bond volume is growing and is expected to reach a 10-year high this year, according to Municipal Market Analytics. About $17 billion of TOBs have been issued so far in 2023, which is on pace to eclipse last year’s $17.6 billion, MMA said. The outstanding TOB market is at about $50 billion from

As the timeline for implementing the Financial Data Transparency Act grows shorter, the Securities and Exchange Commission is teaming up with other federal regulators in an attempt to allay fears about implementation.   “There’s no new disclosure requirements, standards or timelines, it’s just about structured data,” said Dave Sanchez, director of the SEC’s Office of Municipal

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has extended the suspension of his state’s gasoline tax for another month amid sustained high fuel costs. Kemp cited “ongoing economic hardships caused by rampant inflation” Wednesday when he signed an executive order foregoing Georgia’s 31.2 cents-per-gallon tax on gas and 35 cents-per-gallon tax on diesel for another month through Nov.

Anyone who thinks they understand what is happening in the economy — and what will happen — should think some more. The post-pandemic state of the economy is somewhat of a mystery, but a mystery worth exploring. Unemployment is a low 3.9%. Inflation is somewhere between 3.5% and 4.2% depending on which index is used.

Puerto Rico’s upcoming gubernatorial and legislative elections may lead to a new governor but aren’t likely to change local policy significantly, observers say. At this stage, the main drama seems to be in the New Progressive Party governor’s primary, which sees Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón running against Gov. Pedro Pierluisi. As Resident