Bonds

The municipal primary market was active Tuesday while triple-A scales were little moved despite U.S. Treasury gains ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusion Wednesday. Various large new-issues were well-received and cleared the market Tuesday, with several repricing to lower yields. Despite several larger deals entering the primary, the large amounts of cash

The average annual Wall Street bonus slipped 2% to $176,500 in 2023 from the $180,000 average reported in the prior year, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s annual estimate released Tuesday. While profits at Wall Street firms increased 1.8% last year, DiNapoli said securities companies have taken a more cautious approach to compensation.

The number of Federal Reserve rate cuts expected this year has dwindled and the first one isn’t likely before June, analyst said, as inflation numbers continue to come in hotter-than-expected. While the market was initially expecting six or seven 25 basis point cuts this year, Gary Quinzel, vice president of portfolio consulting at Wealth Enhancement

Assured Guaranty has promoted two of its employees and brought on a former Citi employee to grow its new-issue and secondary market business. Marc Livolsi will now act as the firm’s U.S. Public Finance New Issue Marketing and Business Development, and Evan Boulukos will lead Assured’s Secondary Markets desk, both of whom will report to

Rich valuations 10-years and in, municipal outperformance to U.S. Treasuries and an overall drumbeat that supply is not meeting demand — yet cash sits sidelined — was the theme for the week. All else being equal, expectations for more of the same will greet the market next week, along with several New York credits and

Houston will end its eight-year-long impasse with its firefighters union under a $650 million settlement financed through the issuance of judgment bonds, Mayor John Whitmire announced Thursday. The agreement provides lump sum payments to current and retired firefighters to cover back wages owed while they worked without a contract since the last one expired in

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board held the first of its two stakeholder meetings on Thursday, gathering trade groups representing the professionals from which the board derives its fees to discuss its now abandoned rate card model, the volatility of its fees and how many of its fees and expenses are allocated. According to both members

Property insurers’ growing reluctance to insure homes exposed to severe weather should raise a red flag for the municipal bond market, which so far has shrugged off risks but will soon have to grapple with major climate-driven shifts in credit quality and bond prices. That’s according to panelists who spoke Thursday during a webinar titled

Hawaii Department of Transportation airport division revenue bond ratings and bonds issued by the state backed by car rental fees were upgraded by Fitch Ratings, which cited full recovery on enplanements. Fitch upgraded the airport’s $1.7 billion in revenue bonds to AA-minus from A-plus and $111.6 million in certificates of participation to A-plus from A

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker delivered her $6.29 billion fiscal 2025 budget, five-year financial and strategic plan and six-year capital program to the City Council on Thursday, with plans to hit the bond market. The fiscal 2025 proposed capital budget requests about $295.67 million in new city-backed general obligation bond borrowing and $583.38 million of prior

Municipals were weaker Thursday, but outperformed U.S. Treasury market losses, as the final large deals of the week priced, including several housing issues. Equities ended down. Municipal bond mutual fund inflows continued for the third consecutive week as LSEG Lipper reported investors put $295.5 million into the funds for the week ending Wednesday with high-yield

In the Closing Remarks of a Compliance Conference on Dec. 7, the Director of the Office of Municipal Securities of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission noted the SEC recently finalized its cybersecurity rule for public companies. The Director then suggested that “everyone take a minute to review the Adopting Release for the rule because

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as two billion-dollar-plus deals from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and CommonSpirit Health took focus. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 59%, the three-year at 59%, the five-year at 57%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year

To address concerns about a healthcare shortage in western Wisconsin, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Feb. 28 signed a bill that made available $15 million in healthcare grants to hospitals to help them provide services. The $15 million — which Evers, a Democrat, urged the state legislature’s Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee to release immediately —

Munis were steady as the primary market took focus with the $2.8 billion retail pricing from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities rallied after the Consumer Price Index showed inflation ticked up in February. Bond yields didn’t move much upon the CPI release, but Treasuries grew

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a fiscal 2025 budget last week as she wrapped up action on legislation that did not include a bill to begin financing her $500 million strategic water supply proposal for the drought-prone state. The $10.2 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1, marks a

The National Football League’s Chicago Bears are pursuing plans to build a publicly owned domed stadium in Chicago, boosted by $2 billion of private funds.  The team has changed course after chasing a planned stadium development in Arlington Heights, a northwest suburb of Chicago, where talks were bogged down amid disagreements with three area school

Pittsburgh-based Robert Morris University saw its rating downgraded to Ba1 by Moody’s Ratings last month, joining a wave of small colleges facing ratings pressure due to falling demand. The private university, which has about $92 million of outstanding debt, is part of a growing list of smaller higher education institutions, particularly in the Northeast, that

Municipals were steady ahead of a larger new-issue calendar, while U.S. Treasuries and equities were mixed after a better-than-expected jobs report. High-yield and taxable munis outperformed this week, Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply grows to $13.27 billion with $9 billion plus of it pricing next week and opportunistic cash continues to sit on the sidelines.

As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act nears its midpoint, the massive uptick in discretionary grants for transportation infrastructure threatens to undermine the law’s effectiveness because of chronic delays and bureaucratic confusion. That’s what county and state representatives told lawmakers Thursday during a House Transportation & Infrastructure hearing on the rollout of the IIJA’s discretionary