Bonds

A California bill that would require cities and counties to post on their websites how much police brutality and misconduct lawsuits cost them annually is gaining momentum. Assembly Bill 603, authored by Assembly Member Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, passed with a unanimous vote in the Assembly and is being heard July 5 in the Senate Committee

The Federal Reserve might consider an interest-rate hike from near zero as soon as late 2022 as the labor market reaches full employment and inflation is at the central bank’s goal, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said. “The criteria is that we have a sustainable inflation rate, that’s 2% or above, and

Municipals called it a summer Friday with the secondary lightly traded and benchmarks little changed, even as U.S. Treasury yields rose, munis took a break from the relative volatility since the FOMC meeting midmonth. After a week and change of underperformance to U.S. Treasuries, where ratios moved higher for the first time since early in

Municipals were little changed Thursday as the final new issues of the week priced with some bumps in repricings while U.S. Treasuries held steady. Refinitiv Lipper reported nearly $2 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds. Fund flows continue to pour into municipal bond mutual funds, making up at least a quarter of the

Cook County, Illinois’ pandemic-driven fiscal wounds are on the mend with a surplus now expected this year and $121 million hole to close in 2022 that’s a shadow of last year’s $410 million gap. “It has been an exceptionally difficult last year but a combination of revenue bouncing back as the county opens up, federal

State budgets have largely recovered from the revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey released by the National Association of State Budget Officers. Overall spending by the states is on track to grow 3% for the 2021 fiscal year that ends June 30 for 46 of the 50 states, but

A change in how Moody’s Investors Service approaches lease-backed obligation ratings resulted in downgrades to six lease-revenue bonds supporting federal leases on privately owned property. The change in methodology came after Moody’s analysts realized the federal government had refinanced debt totaling $1.3 billion tied to six leased properties using an amortization structure that will result

Illinois moved closer to winning an upgrade thanks to budgetary steps in the right direction and a rosier revenue trajectory that Fitch Ratings recognized in raising the state’s outlook to positive from negative. Fitch on Wednesday affirmed the state’s BBB-minus general obligation rating — still the lowest investment grade score — and the BBB-plus assigned

Investors have baked in the idea that taxes will rise under the Biden administration, but bipartisan infrastructure talks have called that assumption into question in the near term. The proposed bipartisan Senate infrastructure package does not include higher taxes for either individuals or corporations — one of the larger reasons for the muni rally this

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the price increases seen in the economy recently are bigger than expected but reiterated that they will likely wane. “A pretty substantial part, or perhaps all of the overshoot in inflation comes from categories that are directly affected by the re-opening of the economy such as used cars and

Municipals saw some weakness and yield pressure on certain primary deals in repricings following an up and down U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A benchmark yields rose on bonds 10-years and out with one to two basis point cuts to scales. New issues saw a mixture of bumps and cuts on Tuesday, reflecting a general spread widening

Lone Star College is coming to market with nearly $250 million of bonds, a top credit rating and permission to expand its offering of baccalaureate degrees under a new state law. Cypress-Fairbanks campus of Lone Star College System.LSC “Building on the success of our three current bachelor’s degree programs, Lone Star College is ready to

With very few trades to point to any movement, municipal benchmarks were little changed Monday, even as U.S. Treasuries rose from Friday’s lows and the stock market was on fire with the Dow up 500-plus points near the close. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed while municipal-to-UST ratios fell slightly as Treasury yields rose Monday. Long

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation had picked up but should move back toward the U.S. central bank’s 2% target once supply imbalances resolve. “Inflation has increased notably in recent months,” Powell said in written remarks prepared for his Tuesday testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, citing increases in oil

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts is seeking feedback on draft recommended best practices in disclosure for toll road bonds after floating a new RBP more focused on operational government-owned toll roads. NFMA released the draft RBP last week. It is the first toll road RBP the group has released since 2005, and this one

Providence officials may have to scramble for a Plan B as Mayor Jorge Elorza’s proposal for up to $850 million of pension-obligation borrowing sits stalled in the state legislature. State General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, a Democrat, called the enabling legislation too risky and Republican state chairman Steven Frias called the measure “a pension obligation bomb.”

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he would sign legislation authorizing adult-use cannabis after lawmakers approved it. “The states surrounding us already, or soon will, have legal adult-use markets,” Lamont said Thursday after the Senate approved the measure by a 16-11 vote, with nine senators abstaining. “We’re not only effectively modernizing our laws and addressing inequities,

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed rule on the fair dealing obligations of solicitor municipal advisors is in need of clarification, MAs and dealers believe, particularly with respect to disclosure of where such professionals owe their loyalty. Comment letters filed with the MSRB late Thursday struck that common theme in response to the MSRB’s draft

A new opinion issued by the Justice Department says Puerto Rico’s admission as a state could legally include a transition period to temporarily continue the special bankruptcy provisions under PROMESA. That’s good news for the ongoing restructuring of the territory’s debt because it provides an assurance that statehood would not necessarily involve an abrupt dissolution

Municipal bond yields rose on the short end Friday as munis again played catch up to the moves in short U.S. Treasuries and investors became more aggressive in bid lists for high-grade paper. The UST five-year note, 0.785% on Tuesday, touched 0.96% in the afternoon and was at 0.89% near the close Friday, leading to

Parties have filed nearly 30 objections to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s proposed Disclosure Statement for its central government debt Plan of Adjustment, with a key complaint coming from the Puerto Rico government, which said it will not authorize new bonds if pensions are cut. The parties had until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to file

Illinois spread penalties narrowed this month to levels in line with its ratings for the first time in years as the state reaps the benefits of swelling tax revenues, federal cash and a market looking for scarce yield. The state’s 10-year spread currently stands at 63 basis points higher than Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s AAA

Inflation risks may warrant the Federal Reserve beginning raising interest rates next year, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said, backing an even-earlier liftoff than penciled in by many of his colleagues. “I put us starting in late 2022,” Bullard said Friday during a TV interview on CNBC, referring to interest-rate projections published Wednesday by

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will sign newly-passed legislation handing mayoral control of the Chicago Public Schools to a fully-elected school board by 2027 even as negotiations continue over some board rules and the impact on the city’s $500 million in annual financial obligations. The package laid out in an amendment to House Bill 2908 was

Municipal bond yields rose by as much as seven basis points in the belly of the curve Thursday, playing catch-up to the U.S. Treasury market, while Refinitiv Lipper reported another large round of inflows, a nod from investors that they remain engaged in the market, regardless of low rates. Refinitiv Lipper reported $1.85 billion of

After delivering over $6 trillion of fiscal policy in response to COVID-19, lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have now turned to infrastructure discussions. Democrats and Republicans should be able to find common ground here. Although a Memorial Day weekend deadline has passed, the possibility for a bipartisan infrastructure package still exists. However, there has been a

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, employers and employees are searching for an answer: What does the future of work have in store? Despite agreeing a return will be gradual, these populations disagree on important points concerning the cadence of remote work and how to support a workplace in flux. Bridging this communication

Two veteran municipal analyst professionals — John Kenward and Kathy Evers — retired this spring from Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings and Kate Boatright has moved over from the analyst side to take on Evers’ role as head of the U.S. relationship management team. The Dallas-based Boatright, who was a senior director for the U.S.

Tennessee heads to market next week with $658 million of general obligation bonds, the largest GO sale in the state’s history. The bonds are of the highest quality, rated triple-A by Moody’s Investors Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. All three agencies have stable outlooks on the credit. Demand is expected to be high

The E.&J. Gallo Winery will build a new plant in South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster and the state Department of Commerce said Tuesday. The $423 million production facility and distribution center in Chester County is expected to create 496 new jobs over the next eight years. The facility will let Gallo meet customer demand and