Bonds

The acquisition of Cancer Treatment Centers of America and financial weaknesses over the past two years have resulted in City of Hope, the Los Angeles region’s world-renowned research and cancer treatment center, receiving a one-notch downgrade to A2 by Moody’s Investors Service. The downgrade to A2 from A1 affects $2 billion in long-term debt issued

Municipals were little changed Friday after being swept along in a selling rampage at the start of the week, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were in the black. Muni-to-UST ratios rose, with the 30-year topping 100% for the first time since late May. Ratios were at 71% in five years, 90% in 10

The municipal bonds that helped finance the nation’s second largest mall are showing signs of wobbling. The American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was delayed for years, then opened shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 3, the trustee for $800 million of bonds said in a notice posted on the Municipal Securities

Municipals were little changed on the day while other markets continued to react to the Fed rate hike as U.S. Treasuries were stronger and equities sold off. Refinitiv Lipper reported $5.6 billion of outflows, the highest figure of outflows in 2022, as Monday’s massive selloff contributed to more losses for municipals. That figure is up

Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets LLC has hired two senior transportation and housing sector managers away from Wall Street competitors and put more banking boots on the ground in Texas with three recent hires. Ira Smelkinson started in the minority-owned firm’s New York office June 1 as a managing director and head of a now-four member

Municipals took a backseat as the Federal Open Market Committee announced its decision to implement a three-quarter point rate hike while U.S. Treasuries rallied into late afternoon following the news. Equities rallied. The move, prompted partly by hotter-than-expected inflation data Friday, is the largest rate hike since 1994. “Investors appear encouraged that the FOMC is

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi on Tuesday ordered a 45-day moratorium on a diesel and gasoline tax, which could trim $25 million that would normally go to the general fund. “With this measure we seek to relieve the people and the economic impact on our families due to the increase in fuel prices as a

Municipal market veteran Stephen Winterstein has been tapped to lead capital markets at Alphaledger, a growing muni blockchain firm. Winterstein, who has 30 years of experience in a variety of leadership positions across the municipal industry, including portfolio management, credit and quantitative research, and strategy was most recently head of municipal fixed income at MarketAxess.

Municipals were weaker amid larger losses in U.S. Treasuries while equities ended mixed as markets were quieter ahead of the FOMC rate-hike decision Wednesday. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut five to eight basis points, depending on the scale, while USTs rose six to 11 basis points. Muni-to-UST ratios were at 66% in five years, 84%

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the City of Rochester, New York, the Rochester City School District’s former finance director and the city’s former chief financial officer with misleading investors and providing outdated financial statements in connection with a $119 million bond offering in 2019. The Commission also charged municipal advisory firm Capital Markets

Is the American Rescue Plan Act, including the $350 billion sent to states and local governments, responsible for saving thousands of lives and avoiding another Great Depression or to blame for an inflationary trend that could spark a recession as soon as this year? The answer seems to depend on party affiliation. Democrats and Republicans

Following a spate of cyberattacks against local government institutions in New Jersey this year, Democratic Assemblymember Shama Haider introduced legislation on May 16 to strengthen the state’s local capabilities.  Less than a month later, her own hometown of Tenafly faced a cyberattack after teachers accidentally discovered a ransomware attack in progress last week while working

Municipals were hit hard Monday with a quarter-point selloff as munis could not ignore the continued U.S. Treasury selloff and the start of a bear market for equities as inflation-led recession fears grow. Municipals saw cuts up to 25 basis points, though some particular secondary prints pointed to larger losses. This is the largest one-day

Puerto Rico took another step toward refunding its Sales Tax Financing Corp. (COFINA) bonds Friday, but analysts said while the refunding is worth pursuing, they remain skeptical about its success. The Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority posted an announcement to the EMMA website Friday specifying J.P. Morgan Securities would be the lead

Municipals were mixed Thursday and outflows from municipal bond mutual funds returned, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker on the short end and equities sold off. Triple-A yields saw a mix of bumps and cuts on the short end and cuts up to six basis points on long end. USTs were cut up to four basis

Puerto Rico’s Economic Activity Index declined in April from the month prior, even as its employment situation improved, while employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was more uniformly positive. However, a semi-annual Business Confidence Index slipped as business owners cited concerns over energy costs and personnel shortages amid global supply chain issues

Market participants are revising their supply projections downward as rising interest rates have stymied refunding and taxable volumes and overall market volatility has held some issuers to the sidelines.  The pace of issuance so far in 2022 makes it less likely the market will hit previous records seen in 2020 and 2021. BofA Securities was

The Biden administration this week released proposed rules for its electric vehicle charging station network program, with states facing a tight summer deadline to submit plans to secure a piece of the funds. The proposed rules mark a key step in the development of the $7.5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, one of the

A deposit this week into Illinois’ once barren rainy day fund brought it to $751 million with plans to bring it in the next fiscal year up to $1 billion, a level not seen before but one that still falls short of other states. Prior deposits earlier this year brought the account up to about

Municipals saw yields rise across the curve, with the largest losses out long to end the week, while a higher-than-expected inflation report led to a massive U.S. Treasury selloff on the front of the curve and sent equities tumbling. With Friday’s Consumer Price Index report, the “prospects for a quick slowdown in the rate of

New York City has an early budget for the new fiscal year, one that totals a record high $101 billion for fiscal 2023 and includes a record level of $8.3 billion in reserves. At a City Hall press conference Friday afternoon, Mayor Eric Adams, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan announced

Fresh off two rating upgrades, Nassau County, New York, is heading into the market with a competitive sale of $241 million of Series 2022A tax-exempt general obligation improvement bonds. Both Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings raised their ratings on the county’s bonds ahead of Tuesday’s sale. Moody’s raised its rating on the county’s

With Indiana revenue collections running $1 billion over estimates with just one month left in the fiscal year, Gov. Eric Holcomb proposed returning that amount from reserves to taxpayers through an automatic tax refund. Holcomb, a Republican, called for a special session to approve the proposal. “Hoosiers have real needs right now during this period

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board is arguing that the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico does not have subject matter jurisdiction over a recent conflict-of-interest complaint filed against a law firm representing it. The board said the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a dispute between two “non-Title III debtor third parties that does not

The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting on May 3 and 4 paint an optimistic tone, and project the Committee’s confidence that its shift to “neutral” conditions will be enough to prevail in its objective of bringing down inflation back toward the 2% longer-term target. The notes detail the Committee’s assessment that credit

Voters in Providence, Rhode Island, approved a bond referendum authorizing the issuance of up to $515 million of pension obligation bonds. The referendum passed Tuesday by a 70% to 30% margin. However, only about 4% of the eligible voters turned out, with the actual count being 3,545 votes for and 1,519 against in a city

The triple-A yield curve steepened further Wednesday, with municipals better on the short end and much weaker out long while a large general obligation deal from Maryland took the focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended in the red. Triple-A yields were bumped as much as five on the short-end and

Colorado will explore the use of security token offerings for financing capital projects under a bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jared Polis, who has been pushing for his state to become a center of the blockchain economy. The law directs the state treasurer to study the feasibility of using the tokens for financing

Municipals again saw a stronger short end of the yield curve and some pressure out long in light trading Tuesday as U.S. Treasuries were better and equities ended in the black. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped up to three basis points five years and in and cut up to two basis points on the long end,

The increase in funding to California schools from the state’s $97.5 billion surplus has helped earn Sacramento City Unified School District a revised Fitch Ratings outlook to stable from negative. The amount of money dedicated to schools in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most recent budget proposal changed the dynamic for the Sacramento district, said Graham Schnaars,