Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said that getting three-quarters of Americans vaccinated would be a signal that the Covid-19 crisis was ending, a necessary condition for the central bank to consider tapering its bond-buying program. “It’s too early to talk about changing monetary policy,” Bullard said in an interview with Bloomberg
Bonds
A late amendment to New York State’s just-passed $212 billion budget restricts $1.3 billion of bonding for the Empire Station Complex project at Manhattan’s Penn Station to transportation expenses, “and not for above-grade development contemplated in the general project plan.” While the move prohibits Gov. Andrew Cuomo from using the funds for his “15 Penn”
Michigan-based Dykema Gossett Pllc elevated a member of its public finance practice, Jarrod Smith, to lead the 16-member team. Jarrod joined the law firm in 2016 after serving as a Michigan assistant attorney general for more than a decade. In that position, he acted as issuer’s counsel to the State of Michigan and its various
The Bond Dealers of America have launched an initiative to highlight projects across the country financed by municipal bonds as infrastructure discussions between lawmakers resume next week. The initiative, Infrastructure in America: Munis Since 1812, was announced Friday, as part of BDA’s Municipal Bonds for America lobbying effort. “We’re going to work with people in
The question of whether pensions and other retirement benefits should be more prominently reported by state and local governments is a burning controversy for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. What’s at stake is whether the public is being misled by when a governmental general fund is listed in financial statements as balanced while omitting those
Stephanie Wiggins has been tapped to head the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority as the transit agency struggles to recover from pandemic-driven ridership losses. As LA Metro’s CEO, Wiggins will manage a budget of nearly $7 billion and oversee up to $20 billion in capital construction projects. The agency has 11,000 employees that transport
Florida has filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for safety orders that have continued to keep cruise ships locked at the dock amid a pandemic that killed dozens of cruise ship passengers in the early days of the outbreak. The suit alleges that the Centers
The municipal market took a breather on Friday after a busy week which brought with it continued strength as triple-A general obligation yield curves were largely unchanged and Treasuries were stronger. A hefty slate of taxables, corporate CUSIP and university-led issues will dominate the calendar next week. An estimated $7.33 billion of new supply is
Chicago will host a virtual investors’ conference May 6 with the municipal market looking for insights into how the city will use its $1.8 billion of new federal relief, manage rising pension payments and the long-term COVID-19 fiscal fallout. The city has so far only sent out a “Save the Date” for the May 6
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said policy makers will await evidence on whether they’re reaching their goals on price stability and employment before adjusting monetary policy. “It’s not projective progress — it’s hard numbers on the labor market and on prices” that the Fed is looking for, Clarida said Friday in an interview on
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka called on President Joe Biden to use a current vacancy on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors to bring greater diversity to the central bank. Trumka said in an interview Thursday that union officials have recommended the White House nominate William Spriggs or Lisa Cook for the Fed board seat. Either
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi persisted Wednesday in calling to amend the LUMA Energy contract with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority despite LUMA’s rejection of the idea. In June 2020, Puerto Rico announced a contract with LUMA to take over PREPA’s transmission and distribution system. LUMA was to use the period up to July
Municipal bonds improved by two to five basis points, with the biggest moves out longer as an active and diverse primary re-priced to lower yields and stronger U.S. Treasuries helped the tone. Refinitiv Lipper reported $2-plus billion of infows into municipal bond mutual funds, with high-yield alone adding $821 million, furthering the market’s strength. “That
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board sought Tuesday to restart suits on $6.4 billion of revenue bonds and to set the central government bankruptcy disclosure hearing for June 16. The board also extended a deadline for the bond insurers to withdraw their support of the debt deal. The board’s attorneys, led by Proskauer Rose Partner Martin
Ohio formally put an end to the $1 billion ratepayer bailout for two nuclear power plants owned by then-bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. at the center of a $60 million pay-to-play scheme that led to the arrest of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on federal corruption charges. Tainted House Bill 6, enacted in July 2019, bolstered
Investors welcomed a flurry of new deals from diverse credits, including four competitive deals that pushed triple-A benchmarks richer as the minutes from the recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting were released with more of the same story: rates will stay low with “transitory” inflation increases. The Investment Company Institute reported another week of inflows,
President Biden said he hasn’t spoken with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell since taking office more than two months ago, citing respect for the central bank’s independence and marking a sharp turn from his predecessor, Donald Trump. “The Federal Reserve is an independent operation and, starting off my presidency, I want to be real clear
Kansas City, Missouri, heads back into the market with an appropriation-backed issue this week as city officials deliberate how best to use $195 million of new federal aid to weather the COVID-19 fiscal storm that last month drew a rating downgrade. The city will receive the money in two tranches over the next year under
Municipal primary deals repriced to lower yields, competitive deals saw lower coupon structures and strong demand, and both helped push yields lower on triple-A benchmarks as U.S. Treasuries made gains on Tuesday. Gilt-edged Forsyth, North Carolina, general obligation bonds came competitively with 4% coupons through triple-A 5% levels in some maturities, and 2s in 2041
Vermont bought time on a pension-overhaul bill when top lawmakers, amid pressure from unions and progressive legislators, shelved a plan to cut retirement benefits to state employees and teachers. House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Chittenden, said she would form a task force to determine how best to deal with $5.7 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. She
Greenberg Traurig, P.A., announced that it has expanded its public finance and infrastructure practice by hiring municipal veteran Brian Crumbaker for its office in Tallahassee, Florida. Crumbaker, formerly with Hopping Green & Sams, has extensive experience representing bondholders and corporate trust companies in cases related to distressed or defaulted high-yield tax-exempt bonds. At Greenberg Traurig,
San Diego has been emboldened by recent California state court rulings to seek certification of a hotel tax that passed with lower than a two-thirds supermajority. Measure C, a hotel tax that would provide funding for the convention center, services for homeless people, and street repairs, garnered 65.24% of the vote on March 3, 2020,
The public finance industry got a resounding “resilient” rating from market participants from a Bond Buyer survey of the post- or near-post COVID-19 state of the industry. While the municipal bond market still faces rising global interest rate challenges, legislative loggerheads in Washington and the omnipresent effects of COVID-19, the muni industry scored a strong
New York State lawmakers packaged revenue, social justice and market positioning and political muscle when they passed a legalized marijuana bill separate from the fiscal 2022 state budget. The state is also taking a step into the great unknown, given the volatility of weed as a funding source — even more so than traditional sin
The deadline for bond insurer withdrawal of support for the Puerto Rico central government bond Plan Support Agreement was pushed back to 5 p.m. April 5 from 5 p.m. March 31. The relevant PSA covered general obligation and Public Building Authority bonds. It is a key component of the overall plan of adjustment. Assured Guaranty,
A comprehensive list of the public finance tax changes the Biden administration supports are expected to be released simultaneously with the proposed 2022 federal budget later this month. In the meantime, President Biden said Wednesday he plans to finance his $2 trillion American Jobs Plan by reversing some of the tax cuts congressional Republicans enacted
The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority may refund more high-yield debt. The authority is considering refunding its $1.8 billion of Series 2012A and Series 2012B bonds, according to a Wednesday evening posting on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA website. This would follow its successful high-yield 2008A and B refunding on Dec. 9, when
Many states are taking advantage of federal aid and higher than projected revenues by putting the money to work on infrastructure. The pandemic hit all issuers differently. In the case of Florida, the state faced a total shortfall of $4 billion over two years because of the pandemic, Ben Watkins, Florida’s director of the Division
U.S. employers added the most jobs in seven months with improvement across most industries in March, as more vaccinations and fewer business restrictions supercharged the labor market recovery. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 916,000 last month and February employment was revised up to a 468,000 gain, according to a Labor Department report Friday. The unemployment rate
Municipals were steady to slightly stronger Thursday as the market opened with news of an unexpected rise in the weekly jobless claims number and ended by preparing for a long holiday weekend. The bond markets will close Friday at noon ET, ahead of the Easter weekend. The triple-A benchmark scale was mostly stronger across the
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