Bonds

The Texas Transportation Commission, historically one of the largest debt issuers in the state, will return to the bond market with $3 billion of authorization from the state Legislature. House Bill 2219 allows the commission to issue new Texas Mobility Fund obligations until Jan. 1, 2027. The bill requires that the aggregate principal amount of

Illinois lawmakers signed off on the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority’s subsidy request, providing a backstop for the agency to weather the pandemic’s lingering wounds. The agency also is finalizing its next debt restructuring to provide another tool to manage loss of tax and operational revenues after the pandemic shut down the convention business last

Ongoing large inflows into the municipal market sustained a firm tone Thursday as interest rates remain on a gradual decline in spite of the volatility in the Treasury market, but most participants await Friday’s jobs report. Refinitiv Lipper reported $997.358 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds, of that $372 million was high-yield. Triple-A

The Chicago Public Schools would move to a fully elected school board under legislation approved by the state Senate over the objections of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The House previously passed its own version but the House sponsor Tuesday endorsed the Senate version, so the House, which adjourned earlier this week, could return in the coming

The Federal Reserve Board plans to begin gradually selling a portfolio of corporate debt purchased through an emergency lending facility launched last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading panic through financial markets. “Portfolio sales will be gradual and orderly, and will aim to minimize the potential for any adverse impact on market functioning by

Municipals were firmer in both secondary trading and with primary deals repricing to lower yields as the Investment Company Institute reported more than $2.3 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds, helping to keep muni yields low. Trading jumped up Wednesday with several high-grade names clearing at lower yields, combined with solid, large new-issues

Texas lawmakers ended their regular session after passing a $248 billion budget and a bill requiring banks and underwriters to support the firearms industry to qualify for state business. Lawmakers redefined the competitive landscape for the municipal bond industry by banning the largest players from underwriting issues in the state. Senate Bill 19 would bar

Illinois lawmakers passed a fiscal 2022 budget that pays down COVID-19-related short-term borrowing, raises $600 million of revenue by eliminating corporate incentives, and uses $2.5 billion of the $8.1 billion ticketed for the state in the American Rescue Plan Act. The budget package laid out in amendments to Senate Bill 2800 includes a $42.3 billion

Municipals were little changed Tuesday, largely ignoring a weaker U.S. Treasury market, as participants await light supply with a lot of cash on hand. Municipal to UST ratios started the week hovering at recent levels, closing at 61% in 10 years and 66% in 30 years, according to Refinitiv MMD. ICE Data Services saw ratios

Proposed legislation to move Chicago Public Schools to a fully-elected, 21-member school board without any city role raises “dangerous” financial questions, Chicago Civic Federation President Laurence Msall warned lawmakers. Among the key questions: will the city government continue to transfer money to a school district it no longer controls? CPS governance is in the crosshairs

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board voted to raise tuition for the University of Puerto Rico and tolls for the Highways and Transportation Authority in the process of approving fiscal plans for the entities along with five other Puerto Rico organizations. There was more debate and discussion on the UPR plan than on the others. UPR

The multibillion-dollar New York-New Jersey Gateway train tunnel project can move forward following a milestone ruling from two federal agencies announced Friday. The Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) on the Hudson Tunnel Project, which allows pre-construction activities such as real estate

Grace Dunlap, Chair of the Board at Bryant Miller Olive P.A., is the first public finance attorney to win the Ralph A. Marsicano Award. The 2020 award was presented by the City, County and Local Government Law section of the Florida Bar on May 12. The award is given by the CCLGL section to an

Vermont’s $153.3 million sale of general obligation bonds in three series generated a nearly $30 million premium on top of that, state treasurer Beth Pearce said. Proceeds will fund new capital projects and refinance debt. The refunding portion generated more than $7.6 million of savings on a net present value basis, according to Pearce. “Investors

The Chicago Transit Authority heads into the market next week to refund $127 million of federal grant anticipation-backed bonds with positive rating news in tow. S&P Global Ratings lifted its outlook to positive from stable on a portion of the CTA’s grant-backed bonds being refunded, citing improving coverage ratios. S&P also moved the outlook to

Municipals were a touch firmer Friday with a few stronger high-grade prints clearing at levels to move triple-A benchmarks a basis point better while U.S. Treasuries were also a basis point or two lower ahead of what will be a low-issuance week to start the summer. All triple-A benchmark 10-year yields are now below 1%,

San Diego’s regional transportation planning agency introduced a $160 billion draft regional plan that hinges on high-density housing development along transit lines. The 30-year plan drafted by the 21-member board of the San Diego Association of Governments has the support of environmental and labor groups though it faces opposition from some Republicans and anti-tax groups.

The Biden administration is proposing the authorization of $50 billion in direct-pay qualified School Infrastructure Bonds and doubling the limit on tax-exempt private activity bonds for transportation infrastructure to $30 billion. The Treasury’s so-called Green Book of proposed changes to tax law released Friday also calls for an enhancement of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

There’s so much spare cash sloshing around U.S. funding markets that investors are choosing to park almost half a trillion dollars at the central bank — earning absolutely nothing. Usage of the Federal Reserve’s reverse repo facility — a mechanism that’s part of the central bank’s arsenal for helping to steer short-term interest rates —

New-money, refunding and taxable municipal bond issuance all declined in May year-over-year, though a longer lookback shows an average figure for the month historically and the total volume for the year is ahead of the 2020 pace. Municipal issuance decreased 23.3% from May 2020 to $23.77 billion across 820 transactions from the $30.99 billion in

The Federal Reserve’s prestigious annual Jackson Hole policy symposium will be held in person this year, albeit in a modified form, according to a statement Thursday from hosts the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The yearly retreat of the world’s top central bankers and economists went virtual in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

The Utah Infrastructure Agency, a pioneer in financing public broadband, will connect its 16th city to an open fiber network known as Utopia. UIA expects to price $17.1 million of tax-exempt revenue bonds Wednesday through negotiation with Key Banc Capital Markets. Roger Timmerman, executive director of Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA), sister agency of

Municipals saw one to three basis point bumps to benchmark yield curves while new issues repriced by as much as 10 basis points lower into a stronger, issuer-friendly market, as the 10-year fell below 1% on most scales. The Investment Company Institute reported $1.27 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds, marking the 11th

Despite recent large monthly gains, Fitch Ratings said it will take the U.S. job market another 18 months to create the 7 million jobs needed to recover from the economic shocks wrought by the pandemic. Fitch doesn’t expect the U.S. labor market to return to full employment, which it estimates at 4.3%, until the fourth

Cruise ship ports in the U.S. may see some light at the end of the tunnel after more than a year without any departures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines a path to resuming some U.S. cruises in July, though the evolving situation will continue

U.S. central bank officials may be able to begin discussing the appropriate timing of scaling back their bond-buying program at upcoming policy meetings, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said. “It may well be” that “in upcoming meetings, we’ll be at the point where we can begin discuss scaling back the pace of asset purchases,”

Municipals improved Tuesday on the back of a strong primary led by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s $788 million green bonds, gilt-edged Loudoun County, Virginia, and the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, which sold competitively with tight spreads. Triple-A municipal benchmark yield curves were bumped one to two basis points, lagging a four basis point

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman said he expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to begin tapering its bond buying toward the end of this year and start raising interest rates in early 2022, faster than the Wall Street bank’s own economists forecast. “My personal view is rates are likely to rise in the early

The tide has turned for some Illinois public universities’ already bruised ratings as COVID-19 pressures on their balance sheet and state funding levels ease. S&P Global Ratings on Friday upgraded the University of Illinois, the state’s flagship, by two notches noting its resilient balance sheet independent of state help and analysts revised the outlook on

Raphael Bostic, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president, says he hears frequent speculation that he could be nominated to lead the central bank. “I hear about it all the time,” Bostic said, according to an Axios account of the outlet’s interview on Axios on HBO. Raphael Bostic, president and chief executive officer of the Federal