Bonds

Traders returned to work on Monday only to see a smaller-than-average new issue calendar of $3.6 billion. The week’s primary action got underway early as an Iowa school district sold over $100 million of general obligation bonds. Primary marketThis week’s slate consists of $2.4 billion of negotiated deals and $1.2 billion of competitive sales. The

Nuveen is digging in to fight a lawsuit by Preston Hollow Capital LLC that accuses the investment powerhouse of using strong-arm tactics to control high-yield market share by pressuring banks to shun the private capital competitor. In the latest salvos in the case launched by Dallas-based Preston Hollow on Feb. 28, Chicago-based Nuveen doesn’t deny

Next week’s calendar should benefit from timing and availability of paper coming on the heels of both the income tax deadline and the holiday-shortened week. Munis will be very much on the minds of lots of people who paid larger bills due to the state and local tax changes, which may increase demand for next

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, rose to 3.89% from 3.88% the week before. The Bond Buyer’s 20-Bond GO Index of 20-year general obligation yields inched up one basis point to 3.86% from 3.85% the week before. It is at

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city’s efforts to grow its economy have created the fiscal strength that allowed him to propose a balanced $10.6 billion budget for fiscal 2020. The mayor emphasized funding for infrastructure and homeless programs in his budget unveil as well as discussing the city’s economic strengths. “Today Los Angeles

New York City is experiencing a record-setting economic boon, with employment hitting new highs and unemployment falling to 40-year lows, according to a report released Wednesday by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. In 2018, employment in the city reached 4.55 million, the highest jobs level ever recorded, the report said. “New York City is experiencing its

Puerto Rico’s General Fund revenue was 22.8% ahead of projections through the first seven months of the fiscal year, raising hopes that there will be more money to pay bondholders as the island’s debt is restructured. The improvement, reported by the Puerto Rico Treasury, is relative to the original June 29, 2018, budget projection for

Two legacy bond insurers have filed motions in support of the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s effort to declare illegal $6 billion of the commonwealth’s bonds issued in 2012 and 2014. Ambac Insurance Corp. and Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. — firms that ceased writing new policies after the 2008 financial crisis but would continue to pay

While there are only four negotiated deals scheduled for $100 million or larger on the calendar for the week, it doesn’t mean there will not be issues to monitor in the municipal bond market. IHS Markit Ipreo forecasts bond volume will fall to $3.6 billion from a revised total of $4.2 billion in the prior

Four of the biggest U.S. banks are challenging the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s request for information about Puerto Rico bond payments from 2013 to 2017, which may be used to help claw back money from bondholders. On Friday U.S. Bank N.A., Bank of America, and Bank of New York Mellon filed objections to the board’s

WASHINGTON — A possible meeting between Democratic leaders and President Donald Trump in the coming weeks has done little to quell skepticism that an infrastructure bill could pass this year, or even in 2020. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Trump are planning to meet in the next few weeks to

In the week ended April 11, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was unchanged from 3.88% the previous week. The Bond Buyer’s 20-Bond GO Index of 20-year general obligation yields lowered three basis points to 3.85% from 3.88% the week

California (Aa3/AA-/AA-) offered $2 billion of general obligation bonds to retail investors on Wednesday ahead of the institutional pricing on Thursday. According to the retail pricing wire from Morgan Stanley, the 10-year GO refunding maturity with a 5% coupon was priced to yield 2.10%, down one basis point from the level on Tuesday’s premarketing scale.

Underwriters circulated a premarketing wire on California’s $2 billion of general obligation bonds as the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority deal came to market on Tuesday. Primary marketMorgan Stanley circulated a premarketing wire on California’s (Aa3/AA-/AA-) $2.05 billion sale of GOs. The underwriter is set to price the mostly refunding deal on Thursday

S&P Global Ratings withdrew ratings from four privately operated detention centers in Texas, due in part to lack of response to requests for information from federal agencies. Although ratings withdrawal does occur from time to time, the action is unusual when it is due to non-responses from the federal government. The information S&P sought involved

There’s talk at the legislative level over freeing Detroit from its now-limited state oversight as the stain of the city’s Chapter 9 recedes and its recovery continues. Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit, in March introduced a bill that would formally remove the state from overseeing Detroit’s finances. “The time for the so-called ‘Grand Bargain’ has come

U.S. consumer debt growth eased in February and was less than forecast as Americans tapped credit cards, signaling consumption remained stable early this year. Total credit climbed $15.2 billion from the prior month, missing the $17 billion median estimate of economists, following an upwardly revised $17.7 billion gain in January, Federal Reserve figures showed Friday.

With plenty of cash looking to go to work, investors are not loving the calendar or what small allocations they will be allotted as we draw near the end of tax season. Demand is so strong that even $6.69 billion in new volume expected next week is “underwhelming” and won’t satisfy the investor appetite, according

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, nudged up to 3.88% from 3.87% the week before. The Bond Buyer’s 20-Bond GO Index of 20-year general obligation yields jumped nine basis points to 3.88% from 3.79% the week before. It is at

Municipal market analysts say that an effort to claw back fees paid for Puerto Rico general obligation bonds would be counterproductive to the commonwealth’s long-term interests. Twenty-three members of Congress sent a letter Monday to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board urging it to claw back fees paid to underwriters, bond counsel and others involved in

Oklahoma State University, whose enrollment fell 17% over the past four years as state financial support has waned, received a one-notch downgrade from Fitch Ratings to AA-minus. Oklahoma State University in Stillwater is one of two flagships in the Sooner State. OSU The downgrade comes as OSU prepares for a $77 million bond issue expected

The Michigan Finance Authority is returning to the market with its first school loan revolving fund revenue bond deal in four years. The authority will sell $300 million of taxable, term rate, school loan revenue bonds on Wednesday. The bonds will be issued initially in the term rate mode and will bear a fixed rate

White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow called on the Federal Reserve to “immediately” cut interest rates by a half percentage point, escalating the Trump administration’s fight with the central bank. Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council Bloomberg News Kudlow “would love to see” such a move, according to a report

While the municipal bond calendar slips for the upcoming week, buyers will get a taste of the unusual as several out-of-the-ordinary deals are slated to come to market. IHS Markit Ipreo forecasts bond volume will fall to $5.5 billion from a revised total of $7.5 billion in the prior week, according to updated data from

A Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority union has offered the appointment of an inspector general to the PREPA bankruptcy judge as an alternative to a bond insurer proposal for a receiver. The union, Unión de Trabajadores de la Industria Eléctrica y Riego, filed the suggestion in the PREPA bankruptcy Friday morning. In the same document

In the week ended March 28, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, fell to 3.87% from 3.96% the previous week. The Bond Buyer’s 20-Bond GO Index of 20-year general obligation yields plummeted 13 basis points to 3.79% from 3.92% the

Rising passenger counts at the Hartford airport prompted a bond sale to pay for a consolidated car rental facility. The quasi-public Connecticut Airport Authority, owner and operator of Bradley International Airport, priced $151 million of customer facility charge revenue bonds on Wednesday. Bradley, 12 miles north of Hartford and sitting between Boston and New York,

Municipal bond buyers had the pick of the litter as a variety of high-grade, high-yield and taxable deals hit the market on Tuesday. The new deals gave the municipal market a jump-start in the midst of a period of supply-demand imbalance. “There is very strong demand,” said Dan Urbanowicz, senior portfolio manager at Ziegler Capital

A federal agency’s denial of $306 million in funding for repairs to California’s Oroville Dam may have larger ramifications for state and local governments with aging infrastructure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency told the California Department of Water Resources on March 7 that it won’t grant the full reimbursement requested for repairs to the dam,

WASHINGTON — Though the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA has seen its share of improvements and upgrades over the years — and more are on the way — some market participants say it needs more user-friendliness, more organization and more accessibility in its filing process. As EMMA is in its 11th year, Lisa Washburn, managing