Bonds

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said he doesn’t expect to see sustained 2% inflation for the next two years so long as U.S. unemployment remains high. “I would be very surprised if we see a sustained inflation rate at 2% in the next year or two with labor markets as disrupted as

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed 2022 budget eliminates some corporate tax breaks, reins in new spending and uses a series of one-time maneuvers to manage a structural hole dug deeper by the pandemic’s fiscal blows without an income tax hike. The fiscal 2022 budget totals $95.5 billion across all funds including a $41.7 billion general

North Carolina has cut the investment return assumption for the state’s main retirement systems in a move officials say provides a more realistic picture as they plan for the future. North Carolina lowered the projected rate of return for the state’s main retirement systems by 50 basis points to 6.5% from 7.0%. The Feb. 2

Treasuries sold off by nine and eight basis points respectively on the 10- and 30-year Tuesday, pushing muni yields higher, but the asset class continues outperforming its taxable counterpart with only a two basis point cut in triple-A benchmarks. Rising U.S. Treasuries moved municipal to UST ratios even lower again. They fell four basis points

D.A. Davidson has hired California public finance banker Katie Koster, formerly of Piper Sandler, to expand its public finance footprint in California and the southwest. “I was hired to build out the company’s southwest region, starting with California, then Arizona and Nevada, and potentially New Mexico and Hawaii,” Koster said. “We already have a strong

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is giving Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell a bit of a headache when it comes to managing the money markets. Already low short-term interest rates are set to sink further, potentially below zero, after the Treasury announced plans earlier this month to reduce the stockpile of cash it amassed at the

Gov. Jim Justice’s push to eliminate the West Virginia state income tax would eliminate nearly half of the state’s general fund revenue. “We are on the launch pad right now. In fact, we’re airborne right now. And that’s why tonight, tonight I am asking all of you to join me to repeal the income state

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is retiring decades-old guidance as part of its retrospective rule review, a move expected to help dealers and muni advisors more easily understand how rules apply to their contemporary business practices. Dealers and municipal advisors were pleased with the announcement that came late Thursday, saying Friday the MSRB’s decision makes

After a record year, Hilltop Securities plans to continue growing its underwriting business but not at the expense of financial advisory services, said David Medanich, head of public finance for the firm. “Our financial advisory business is strong and it’s going to get stronger,” Medanich said. “But it’s going to grow selectively.” The expansion narrative

National Conference of State Legislatures officials said Friday their top federal priority for education is getting flexibility in how to spend their state and local aid. States spend about 42% of funds on education with 32% going to K through 12 schools and 10% for higher education, according to NCSL. They said federal lawmakers need

Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay $600 million to settle a lawsuit over mortgage securities that collapsed in the 2008 financial crisis, an accord that locks in an expected hit to its profit. The plaintiff, MBIA Insurance Corp., said late Thursday that it had reached an agreement, after a post-trial court decision that ordered

Municipals ended the week steady in quiet trading ahead of the Presidents Day weekend, even as U.S. 30-year Treasuries broke past 2.00%. Investors will see a light $5.67 billion of new issues next week, led by the Regional Transportation District of Colorado’s tax-exempt and taxable green bond deal. Rising U.S. Treasuries moved municipal to UST

Rising default risks because of a Missouri levee district’s legal battle with some of its top taxpayers and the possibility of more challenges drove Fitch Ratings to sink its already low rating to CCC. Fitch dropped $12.3 million of Howard Bend Levee District bonds to CCC from B-plus. It had stripped the district of its

New York City will end the current fiscal year with a $3.62 billion surplus — $258 million more than what Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget office has estimated, according the nonpartisan Independent Budget Office. IBO projects a nearly $500 million surplus in 2022, followed by shortfalls of about $4 billion a year in 2023 through

Michigan-based Trinity Health’s efforts to shed a fiscally struggling Chicago hospital resulted in a Chapter 11 filing for the hospital Wednesday. Mercy Hospital and Medical Center and Mercy Health System, which became part of the national system nearly a decade ago operating as a “health ministry” under the system, filed for bankruptcy after its efforts

Voters in St. Louis and St. Louis County will decide the fate of their sewer district’s $500 million bond question in April after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The referendum on the April 6 ballot is the latest in a series of borrowing authorizations sought by the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District

Economist Lisa Cook has the backing of several key White House officials and allies outside the administration as a possible choice for President Joe Biden in filling a vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, according to people familiar with the matter. Cook, who teaches at Michigan State University, is also on the steering

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board said it has reached a new central government debt deal but asked the court to extend its deadline to reveal its terms. The board filed an urgent motion Wednesday afternoon with Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain asking for an extension to March 8 from Feb. 10 to disclose

Municipal bonds firmed as the primary helped direct secondary levels and U.S. Treasuries gained on weak consumer price index numbers, indicating lackluster inflation in the short term. Fed Chair Jerome Powell echoed the sentiment in dovish comments, saying the U.S. is “very far” from a strong labor market and he will wait to see inflation

Top finance executives from 30 major cities are urging the Biden administration to ask Congress for flexibility in direct aid to local governments and a restoration of advance refunding. The Tuesday letter’s signatories also want the administration to consider restoring and expanding the Federal Reserve’s now expired 2020 Municipal Liquidity Facility. That short-term lending program

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker won’t ask lawmakers to approve a major tax hike to help close the now $3 billion projected gap in the fiscal 2022 budget he unveils next week. The budget proposal to be unveiled on Feb. 17 during his annual budget address will hold the line on spending, close corporate tax loopholes

The Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program, which was designed to provide emergency support to mid-size U.S. companies during the pandemic, lent out a total $17.5 billion — or just 3% of its potential capacity — according to data released Tuesday by the central bank. The program was maligned from the start: slow to get

Kroll Bond Rating Agency argues that environmental, social and governance scores based on subjective metrics that are not correlated to credit risk do not have a place in their credit ratings. KBRA said the development, weighting, and ranking of the key factors in ESG scores are endeavors best left to investors rather than to rating

The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District blasted a city councilman who wants the city government to sue to reopen schools for in person learning. Councilman Joe Buscaino plans to submit a resolution this week asking the city attorney’s office to file a lawsuit modeled on one filed recently by San Francisco. “Grandstanding

The 30-year U.S. Treasury hit 2% overnight but settled at 1.97% near the close while equities rose for the sixth day on stimulus and vaccination hopes. Municipals did more of the same — Triple-A benchmarks all reported no changes from Friday’s levels with no concessions in light secondary trading with an eye on the week’s

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George said the U.S. central bank was still “far away” from achieving its goals and it was premature to start a debate on scaling back its massive bond-buying program. “I continue to think it is too soon to try to speculate about that,” George said in a

The Moynihan Train Hall at Pennsylvania Station in New York opened on Jan. 1 for Amtrak and some Long Island Rail Road passengers.Bloomberg News The opening of the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, a planned Port Authority Bus Terminal replacement eight blocks north, and other looming megaprojects have sparked a renewed optimism about New

Issuers hope the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to open a comment window on potential money market fund reforms will provide a chance to revive stable net asset values that make it easier for local governments to invest. On Thursday, the SEC requested comment from market participants on potential reform measures to make MMFs more

Federal appeals court judges seemed to sympathize with arguments both helping and hurting the bond insurers’ cases on Puerto Rico revenue bond recoveries in hearings on Thursday. The panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit heard the bond insurers’ case on Highways and Transportation Authority and Puerto Rico

Municipal yields ended the week little changed amid quiet trading, once again ignoring more volatile swings in U.S. Treasuries, with the 30-year there nearing 2.00% at the close Friday. Stimulus news out of Washington ($1.9 trillion) and disappointing employment numbers — a mere 49,000 nonfarm payrolls gain in January — had equities on the move