Bonds

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has approved amendments to Rule G-27 on dealer supervision that are designed to help dealers better adapt to changes brought on by remote work. That was approved during the MSRB’s quarterly board meeting, where the board welcomed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler in attendance for his yearly visit,

Market participants are upbeat with predictions about an economy showing few signs of recession, a record-breaking stock market and a Federal Reserve that is expected to start ratcheting down interest rates.  Fresh economic data showing gross domestic product growing by an annual rate of 3.3% has bond issuers and ratings agency forecasters feeling bullish about

Accounting errors are a key factor driving Alaska’s Juneau School District into a shortfall amounting to more than 10% of its operating budget. But other underlying causes of the deficit are ones faced by other school districts in the state. Flat state funding and the end of pandemic-era federal relief funds combined with an aging

Municipals saw a more constructive secondary trading session Thursday and mutual funds reported the third consecutive week of inflows while U.S. Treasuries improved. Stocks continued to break records after another report of hotter economic data, which is leading more participants to pare back rate cut timing expectations. LSEG Lipper reported Thursday that investors added $210.6

The public power sector’s outlook was revised to negative from stable by S&P Global Ratings due to factors including inflation and government mandate pressures. Inflation diminished customers’ ability to afford electricity rates, said David Bodek, S&P sector leader. Retail electricity prices in recent years have outpaced inflation as utilities also face increased cost, Bodek said

Municipals were little changed Wednesday amid another busy primary session as U.S. Treasury yields rose throughout most of the curve and equities ended up. Despite municipal performance being in the red to start to 2023, municipal mutual funds continue to see inflows. The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported more inflows into municipal bond mutual funds

The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday ended a three-year legal battle over the constitutionality of the pension consolidation passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019. The law, Public Act 101-0610, which took effect Jan. 1, 2020, pooled most of Illinois’ local police and firefighter pension fund assets

Municipals were weaker in spots amid an active primary market that saw a billion-dollar-plus retail order from the Regents of the University of California price and Washington sell just shy of $1 billion general obligation bonds in the competitive market. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio

Denver Health, Colorado’s sole safety net healthcare provider, is nearing a breaking point as an influx of migrants adds to escalating uncompensated care costs.  The health system has received no reimbursement for treating 8,000 migrants in 20,000 visits, Donna Lynne, its CEO, told the Denver City Council’s Finance & Governance Committee this month.  “While I

Municipals were mixed Monday ahead of a heavy new-issue slate while U.S. Treasuries were better and equities saw smaller gains after last week’s record-breaking moves. Munis continue to struggle in 2024, with the asset class seeing negative returns of 1.01% so far this year. This is a turnaround “from the last quarter of 2023 in

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded New York University Langone Hospitals’ $3.2 billion of outstanding revenue bonds to A1 from A2 and revised the outlook to stable from positive. “The upgrade reflects an expected continuation of very strong and consistent operating performance and revenue growth relative to peers, driven by NYULH’s very strong market position and highly

Municipal bonds were slightly weaker Friday ahead of an $8.4 billion new-issue calendar and the last full week of January. U.S. Treasuries were mixed on the day while equities saw another session of gains as markets continue to digest the unlikelihood of any Federal Reserve rate cuts in the first quarter. Triple-A yields rose two

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority staff came under fire from their own auditor general for misleading communications and a “breach of transparency” regarding cost overruns and delays on the $12.2 billion San Jose extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. The project would extend BART, a commuter railway, through downtown San Jose into Santa

The Illinois Supreme Court Friday upheld pension consolidation legislation championed by Gov. JB Pritzker that was challenged in court by more than a dozen suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds.  The case, Arlington Heights Police Pension Fund et al. v. JB Pritzker et al., had pitted the governor and General Assembly against a

A trial over Missouri’s first-of-their-kind ESG investment rules will go ahead after a federal judge this month rejected the state’s motion to dismiss. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association sued the Show Me State last August over a pair of four-month-old anti-environmental, social and governance securities rules. The measures require advisors and broker-dealers to

Federal transportation and housing funding will continue to flow until early March after Congress late Thursday passed a short-term appropriations bill a day ahead of a partial government shutdown. “There will not be a shutdown on Friday,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Because both sides have worked together, the government will stay open.

Municipals were weaker Thursday amid another busy new-issue day while municipal bond mutual funds reported inflows. U.S. Treasuries yields rose and equities were up near the close. Muni yields rose up to eight basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose up to six basis points at 30 years. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio

HilltopSecurities hired six former UBS professionals as part of a wider plan to expand its public finance footprint. “We remain committed to adding professionals nationwide to our public finance business who offer a full product solution set to their clients,” said Brad Winges, president of HilltopSecurities. “This is the first group of many hires that

A proposed bond-financed crude oil-transporting railway project in Utah lost a federal right-of-way permit in the wake of a 2023 court ruling. The U.S. Forest Service announced Wednesday it withdrew a 2022 permit allowing the Uinta Basin Railway’s construction and operation on about 12 miles of land in the Ashley National Forest.  The federal agency

Municipals faced rising yields in the secondary market Wednesday while large new-issues priced in the primary market. U.S. Treasuries were weaker again, and equities saw more losses. The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported large inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Jan. 10, with investors adding $2.066 billion to funds following $77