Bonds

S&P Global Ratings revised California’s rating outlook to stable from positive Friday, citing the state’s projected $68 billion multi-year deficit, revenue uncertainties and economic conditions. The state holds ratings of AA-minus from S&P, AA from Fitch Ratings and Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service. The state also has a stable outlook from Fitch. Moody’s revised the

A tough year for Wall Street municipal underwriting firms culminated Thursday with Citigroup’s announcement it would exit the business, a stunning move that market participants warned would raise state and city financing costs and that Citi would come to regret as headwinds calm and business rebounds. “It’s a major disappointment,” said Matt Fabian, a partner

A proposed deal for a massive mixed-used arena project in Alexandria, Virginia, would be mostly financed through $1.05 billion in project revenue bonds issued by the newly named Virginia Stadium Authority. Details and hardening local opposition are emerging regarding the development of a 12-acre site in Potomac Yard, a former rail hub that straddles Arlington

Connecticut is set to price $840 million of general obligation bonds next week, the state’s last issuance of a year with landmark fiscal policy decisions. The state, which renewed fiscal responsibility measures, lowered income taxes and maintained strong economic metrics, kept its solid ratings from all four agencies for the upcoming deal.  “Management in Connecticut,

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said it’s too early for officials to begin thinking about cutting rates as soon as March as they consider whether policy is restrictive enough to get inflation back to 2%. “We aren’t really talking about rate cuts,” Williams said Friday in an interview on CNBC. He

Citigroup will close its municipal division by the end of the first quarter of 2024, leaving behind a historic tenure in a market it once dominated in both underwriting and secondary market-making. The firm decided to “wind down our municipal underwriting and market-making activities” after a “broad-based review” of its muni business, according to a

Municipals rallied hard Thursday, playing catch up to the moves in U.S. Treasuries, which extended their gains for a second session following the Federal Open Market Committee’s clear communication of future rate cuts in 2024. Equities continued their rally. Triple-A yields fell 13 to 17 basis points, depending on the curve, but the gains were

Triple-A municipal bond yields fell a few basis points Wednesday following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates and signal that only three rate cuts were likely in 2024, which sent U.S. Treasury yields plummeting down more than a quarter point on the short end while equities rallied and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed

Federal highway officials Wednesday defended the seemingly slow rollout of a high-profile federally funded program to create a national network of electric vehicle chargers. Ohio last week opened what is so far the nation’s first — and only — electric vehicle charging station funded through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. New York is

Two big Illinois issuers have scheduled refunding deals with planned pricings on Thursday, with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to issue $900 million of series 2024A senior revenue refunding bonds and Chicago’s Midway Airport to sell $393 million of series 2023C senior revenue refunding bonds.   Rising interest rates had made refundings thin on the

Municipals were mostly steady to a touch softer in secondary trading while newly upgraded gilt-edged Ohio upsized its general obligation refunding deal and repriced to lower yields. U.S. Treasuries improved on the day following cooler inflation data that many participants said would not move the needle on the Federal Reserve’s rates decision Wednesday. Triple-A yields

Bondholders and other parties involved in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy returned to court Friday in an effort to move the needle on their opposing cases seeking better repayment terms. Bond parties defended their adversary complaint against Puerto Rico’s central government’s actions regarding PREPA since the central government emerged from bankruptcy in March

Municipals saw weakness for the first time since October after falling upward of 100 basis points since then, as investors are digesting the lower muni yield set amid richer ratios and weaker U.S. Treasuries. Triple-A yields rose one to three basis points with larger losses out long, depending on the curve, while USTs were mixed

Ohio for the first time can boast of a trifecta of triple-A ratings after S&P Global Ratings on Friday gave top marks to the state’s issuer and general obligation ratings. “The upgrades reflect our view of Ohio’s demonstrated commitment to active budget management and building and maintaining reserves through economic cycles,” said S&P analyst Rob

Municipals were steady Friday, ignoring weakness in the U.S. Treasury market after the jobs report came in hotter-than-expected. Equities ended up. The November payroll report “was stronger than Wall Street was expecting, and we are already seeing significant upward pressure on Treasury yields,” said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist and managing director at BMO Economics.

Moody’s Investors Service raised its outlook on U.S. nonprofit higher education sector to stable from negative on Thursday, citing expected narrowing gaps between expense and revenue growth. Also on Thursday, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its “bifurcated” outlook for the sector, which includes a negative outlook for less selective, more regional institutions without financial flexibility and

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will need to close a $68 billion shortfall as he wraps up work on the proposed budget for fiscal 2024 that he will present to lawmakers in January. The upshot is that the flooding and massive storms that hit California in early 2023 and pushed income tax filings in the state

Alan Appelbaum, former managing director and head of Aegis Capital Corp.’s municipal bond desk, has agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he disregarded his obligations as a broker-dealer and violated antifraud provisions in his recommendation of certain variable interest rate structured products to seven investors. Without admitting or denying the findings, Applebaum,

Texas and its public schools could face future budget pressures in the wake of last month’s passage of a constitutional amendment to decrease school property taxes, Fitch Ratings said Thursday. Proposition 4 was among 12 other constitutional amendments Texas voters approved Nov. 7 with many of the measures tapping surplus state money for tax relief

Municipals were slightly firmer Thursday as the last of the week’s large new-issues came and went while U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities ended up ahead of Friday’s much-anticipated jobs report. Triple-A yields fell one to three basis points while USTs yields were relatively flat, only a basis point down out long. Relative value