Bonds

It’s feast after famine as municipal bond buyers will see a hefty new issue slate head their way next week. Next week’s deals will be pricing into an uncertain market environment, albeit one that may benefit issuers more than investors. On Friday, the Treasury yield curve inverted for the first time since 2007, triggering the

California State Controller Betty Yee warned legislative budget committees that her office may miss the April 1 deadline for releasing its comprehensive annual financial report. Yee cited problems the controller’s office has encountered in moving her office’s financial systems onto the state’s electronic Financial Information System for California, commonly referred to as FI$CAL. The March

Good timing and strong retail participation set the stage for a strong reception of Indianapolis and Marion County’s $623 million of tax-exempt bonds. The consolidated city-county government priced the deal Thursday after a retail order period Wednesday. It consists of $610 million of bonds for the long-anticipated justice center project, plus roughly $13 million of

Municipal bonds were stronger after the Federal Reserve kept its interest rate target unchanged Wednesday. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-0 to hold rates at a range of 2.25% to 2.5% and its Summary of Economic Projections suggested no further rate hikes this year and one in 2020. Separately, the Fed said it will

Municipal bonds turned mixed Tuesday as buyers watched and waited for final results of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. Market participants will focus on the release of the Summary of Economic Projections and any announcement about balance sheet reduction in the statement following the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day gathering on

Puerto Rico Oversight Board Executive Director Natalie Jaresko on Monday cited the almost universal dissatisfaction with the board as proof that it was doing its job. Creditors are unhappy with the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s bonds, the Kobre and Kim report on the history of the debt problem, and the board’s current effort to invalidate

Maine Gov. Janet Mills is backing bonds for a state conservation initiative that her predecessor, conservative firebrand Paul LePage, delayed for the past four years. The Democratic governor is pushing legislative support on a $95 million bond package for land conservation efforts and state park improvements. The borrowing proposal would designate $75 million toward Land

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s long game for his $10 billion Lower Manhattan resilience initiative hinges on a huge variable — whether large-scale federal funding will be available. “From the perspective of the city of New York alone, this would be extraordinarily difficult to fund,” de Blasio told reporters Thursday at Metropolitan College of

Munis have been grooving along but next week will bring tiny issuance of less than $3 billion, along with a Federal Open Market Committee meeting. IHS Markit Ipreo forecasts weekly bond volume plummeting to $2.4 billion from a revised total of $4.8 billion in the past week, according to updated data from Refinitiv. The calendar

In the week ended March 14, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, fell to 3.99% from 4.04% the previous week. The Bond Buyer’s 20-Bond GO Index of 20-year general obligation yields dropped five basis points to 4.04% from 4.09% the

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council signed off Wednesday on an $850 million borrowing authorization along with several key development projects sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel before closing the books on his eight-year tenure. The city intends to issue about $800 million late this month in its first general obligation bond offering in more than

Denver-based D.A. Davidson & Co. will acquire Wells Nelson & Associates, an Oklahoma-based public finance and wealth management firm. The deal strengthens D.A. Davidson’s fixed-income presence in Oklahoma and Texas and unites two firms whose expertise and market leadership are aligned, company officials said “Wells Nelson has a great reputation, deep expertise and solid relationships

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney says his proposal will boost the city’s pension and reserve levels while avoiding any tax increases. Kenney outlined a $5 billion 2020 fiscal year spending plan last week that would increase the city’s pension funding by 4.17%, or $29.8 million, after an estimated 3.4% decrease from 2018 to 2019. The city’s

A South Carolina school district has sued its former financial advisors and bond counsel alleging that representatives of the firms knew or should have known about the fraudulent activities of the district’s former chief financial officer. Brantley Thomas, the former Berkeley County School District CFO who is now serving a more than five-year-sentence for embezzling

Wealthy residents in high-tax U.S. states are just starting to feel the pain in the pocketbook caused by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. And that big tax bill, in turn, is reminding investors of the intrinsic value that munis can have on their portfolios. For the ninth week in a row, cash rushed

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board and governor quarreled Friday about payments for health insurance, their latest clash over government policy. Gov. Ricardo Rosselló sent out a press statement saying he was extending employer contributions for employee health insurance, specifying that the extension was inconsistent with the board approved fiscal plan, which calls for the employer

The Appeals Court for the First District on Thursday rejected a request for a full judge panel review of a legal challenge to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board. A union for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority had petitioned on March 1 for the review of a court decision made by three judges. The three

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says his proposed 18-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax increase is the bare minimum the state needs to spend to keep roads and bridges in working order. “At this point in Ohio’s history it is time for us to invest in Ohio,” the new governor, a Republican, said in his State of the State

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Tuesday proposed a municipal takeover of mass-transit operations within the five boroughs from the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “State control is not working,” Johnson told an overflow crowd during his State of the City address at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens. “State control is

The municipal market is prepping for$5.84 billion of new bonds, including the biggest deal of the year thus far. As the market awaits the new paper to hit the street, Patrick Luby, Senior Municipal Strategist at CreditSights, said quiet trading last week may be more of an indicator of a lack of desirable bonds, rather

Retail holders of Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. (COFINA) bonds are getting about 3% less than the initially expected recoveries in the COFINA restructuring, BlueList Partners President Glenn Ryhanych said. In February, COFINA swapped new bonds for old ones in the biggest municipal debt restructuring in U.S. history, in which about $17.6 billion of

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded New York City’s general obligation bonds to Aa1 from Aa2 Friday. Moody’s said the upgrade, which affects about $38 billion of GO debt, “reflects continued strengthening and diversification of New York City’s economy, reducing its reliance on volatile financial services. The city’s competitive advantages include a young and highly skilled labor

Longtime municipal strategist Stephen Winterstein will leave the research side of the municipal and fixed income market to assume a newly-created role as municipal bond client sales and product manager at Market Axess, the firm confirmed. Winterstein, most recently managing director of research and chief municipal fixed income strategist at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, Inc.,

Minnesota trimmed about $500 million off its previously projected $1.5 billion surplus in its annual February revenue forecast, putting a damper on some of the new spending and bonding proposed by Gov. Tim Walz. “Minnesota’s budget and economic outlook has weakened since November” when the last formal forecast was published, according to Minnesota Management and

A Securities and Exchange Commission settlement approved by the Oyster Bay, New York, Town Board does not require the town to pay any fines. Oyster Bay faced a November 2017 SEC lawsuit alleging it and former Town Supervisor John Venditto defrauded investors by hiding the existence and potential impact of side deals with a local

The College of New Rochelle is on the brink of closure after staff cuts, asset sales and a refinancing failed to alleviate a debt crunch. The 115-year old Catholic school in New York’s Westchester County said Friday that “cash flow challenges” probably will force an end of operations by the end of this summer. The

Municipal bonds remained strong on Monday as a Wisconsin school district sold bonds in the primary market. The demand component of the muni market continues to drive firm prices, a New York trader said on Monday, adding that rich relative value fundamentals in the front half of the curve have not been deterring cash from

The San Diego County Water Authority’s long-time general manager, Maureen Stapleton, informed the agency’s board this week that she will be retiring. Sandy Kerl, who has been the authority’s deputy general manager since 2009, will serve as acting general manager, while the 24-member water wholesaler conducts a search. Maureen Stapleton has headed the San Diego

A more robust new issue slate awaits municipal bond buyers as supply rises after a holiday-shortened trading week. IHS Markit Ipreo forecasts weekly bond volume will increase to $4.9 billion from a revised total of $2 billion in the prior week, according to updated data from Refinitiv. The calendar is composed of $3.5 billion of

Puerto Rico’s economic activity index extended its decline to a fourth straight month in December. The December economic activity index value was 0.7% below that for November. The index was up 16.1% from December 2017, when Puerto Rico was still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Maria. Compared with December 2016, December’s economic activity index