Bonds

Massachusetts’ House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a $659 million tax cut package, handing off to the Senate one of the largest tax cut proposals in state history. In a 150–3 vote, the Democratic-majority House approved a $659 million proposal introduced by Rep. Ronald Mariano last week, a package in line with, but notably smaller, than

Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin said he wants to see more evidence that U.S. inflation is easing back to the central bank’s goal of 2%. “I want to see more evidence that inflation is settling back to our target,” Barkin said in an audience discussion at the Richmond Association for Business Economics Monday.

The ongoing effort in Congress to lift a controversial cap on the deduction that can be taken for state and local taxes began a new chapter on Friday as another bipartisan group of lawmakers began attempts to revive a bill very similar to one that failed to advance last session. Reps. Andrew Garbarino along with

A New York judge has ordered an affiliate to the owner of the American Dream Mall to pay $389 million to a group of junior lenders. New York Supreme Court Judge Andrew Borrock this week granted a summary judgment to a group of the mall’s private financers, who sued in February, alleging the mall failed

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he favored more monetary policy tightening to reduce persistently high inflation, although he said he was prepared to adjust his stance if needed if credit tightens more than expected. “Because financial conditions have not significantly tightened, the labor market continues to be strong and quite tight, and inflation is

Municipals were weaker ahead of a heavier new-issue calendar, while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended down. Investors will be greeted Monday with a new-issue calendar estimated at $11.488 billion, one of the largest year to date. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut two to six basis points, depending on the scale, while U.S. Treasury

S&P Global Ratings on Friday raised Massachusetts’s general obligation long-term credit rating to AA-plus from AA, and upgraded bonds backed by annual appropriations from the state. “The upgrade reflects our view that the commonwealth’s commitment to strengthen its budget management practices supported by the state’s improved reserves and a strong economy will be sustained through

Rejecting bondholders’ position that they are entitled to full recovery, District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain set procedures for estimating bondholder claims in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy case and deadlines shorter than requested. The parties should engage in a “true estimation process, not a protracted trial to establish a precise computation of

Municipals were steady Thursday in secondary trading as investors turned their attention to a sizable new-issue slate distracting from a weaker U.S. Treasury market. Equities rallied. Outflows from municipal bond mutual funds intensified as Refinitiv Lipper reported $255.794 million was pulled from them as of Wednesday after $91.713 million of outflows the week prior. With

California legislation designed to alter transparency laws that have had a “chilling effect” on bond measure passage cleared its first hurdle. The Senate’s Governance and Finance Committee approved Senate Bill 532 by a 5-1 vote Wednesday, the bill will now move to the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who

They say the third time’s a charm — and that must be true in the Garden State, where for the third time in less than a week, New Jersey received a credit rating upgraded. S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday raised its long-term and underlying ratings on the state’s general obligation bonds to A from A-minus

Federal Reserve policymakers scaled back their expectations for rate hikes this year after a series of bank collapses roiled markets last month, and stressed they would remain vigilant for the potential of a credit crunch to further slow the economy, a record of the meeting showed. “Many participants noted that the likely effects of recent

Municipals were firmer in spots, while U.S. Treasury yields rose 10 years and in ahead of Wednesday’s consumer price index report. Equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields were bumped up to three basis points Tuesday while UST yields rose up to two basis points 10 years and in, moving municipal-UST ratios near their 12-month lows, according

Add stress in the regional banking sector to the bevy of pressures facing the construction industry. Small and medium banks are tapping the brakes on construction loans as they struggle to manage interest rate-related pressures that sparked some failures. “It’s surprising, the reach of those banks,” said Julian Anderson, president of Rider Levett Bucknall North

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders want 100% of what they are owed and the Oversight Board working on the power authority’s bankruptcy plan offers a dramatically lower repayment percentage, court filing show. In a filing late on Friday, the bondholders said even if one assumed their claim was “unsecured,” they would still have a

The Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority in North Carolina has won approval to sell $175 million of transportation revenue bonds. The state Local Government Commission voted April 4 to allow the airport authority to continue to finance its expansion work at the regional airport. Most bond sales in the state must be approved by the

Competing visions for the future of New Jersey’s corporate tax system emerged in the wake of changes proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy. As part ofa $53.1 billion fiscal year 2024 budget proposed in late February, Murphy said he intended to let a corporate business tax surcharge instituted in 2020 in response to COVID-related budget gaps,

Citing “rollbacks in the face of myopic right-wing pushback against responsible fiduciary investing,” New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said Wednesday that two of the city’s pension funds have established new plans to reach net zero emissions in their investment portfolios by 2040.  “If the cynical war of political distraction waged by red-state politicians at the

The Internal Revenue Service is examining a $338.4 million 2015 bond issuance by the Clark County School District in Nevada and asking questions about federal tax compliance, according to a letter the district received from the IRS that was disclosed on EMMA. According to the disclosure filing, the IRS is asking for copies of specified

The Biden administration has announced it planned to spend $585 million to fix aging water systems in the West, more than half going to California. The funding announced Wednesday during an event at the Imperial Dam on the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona, will go to 83 projects across 11 states. California will receive $308