Bonds

Pension cuts and spending measures remain an obstacle to restructuring Puerto Rico’s debt, with the president of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives asking the Oversight Board to provide written commitment to support no pension cuts and a slew of spending measures before he would sign off on a bond restructuring. “Until some accommodation can

Municipals were mostly steady on a day when U.S. Treasuries sold off and equities rallied in a risk-on trade from debt-ceiling news in Washington while Refinitiv Lipper reported a mere $37 million of fund inflows and a near half-billion of high-yield outflows. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed on the day with Refinitiv MMD cutting the

Two Gary, Indiana, residents are asking a federal judge to return the city’s school district to elected control and overturn a 2020 referendum that bolstered the district’s strained coffers by $8.9 million annually for eight years. The state first moved to take control of the Gary Community School Corp. in 2017 due to its fiscal

Municipals were a touch weaker as U.S. Treasuries and equities seesawed throughout the day on debt ceiling news out of Washington while new issues in the primary were in high demand and repriced to lower yields. Triple-A benchmarks saw cuts of one to two basis points. Refinitiv MMD cut two on the 10-year and one

California Gov. Gavin Newsom started the week with a trio of proclamations: to aid schools impacted by wildfires, to aid the Orange County beach areas affected by a massive oil spill, and to support the state’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The order related to schools ensures continuity in education for displaced students and includes waivers

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board objected to a Puerto Rico bondholder request to further extend the retail bondholder Plan of Adjustment voting deadline. In response to requests by the Retirees Committee, Unsecured Creditors Committee, and bondholder Peter Hein, Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Sept. 27 extended the voting deadline on the plan

Top bond underwriters are backing away from Texas after they were targeted by a law to protect the firearms industry. Three of the state’s top five underwriters in the first half of 2021 — JPMorgan, Citi, and Bank of America — accounted for $6.4 billion of deals, according to Refinitiv. Those firms and Wells Fargo

Municipal bonds were little changed Monday, ignoring volatility in the stock market and a softer U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A municipal benchmark yields were steady to a touch firmer as the market awaits a sizable calendar led by a large taxable Alabama general obligation deal and a diverse set of credits from airports to charter schools

Municipals were little changed with a softer tone Thursday while municipal bond mutual funds saw a drop in inflows to $408 million and high yield saw its first outflows since March 3. For 30 straight weeks, investors put cash into municipal bond funds although their confidence may be waning, according to data released Thursday. Refinitiv

As executive vice president and chief financial officer of Pittsburgh International Airport, Eric Sprys knows of the city’s dark industrial days. “I hear those stories all the time,” he said. Now the airport itself is the latest example of Pittsburgh’s modernization. It is scheduled to break ground Oct. 14 for its $1.4 billion 700,000-square-foot terminal.

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved a bond restructuring bill Thursday night contingent on there being no cuts to government pensions. On Monday, the Puerto Rico Oversight Board said it was willing to raise the threshold for pensions to be cut to $2,000 or more per month from its previous threshold of $1,500 or

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board expects to spend $43.3 million during the fiscal year that began Friday, releasing a FY 2022 budget highlighting investments in technology and a focus on upholding the public trust. “Informed by extensive engagement with our stakeholders, we are making strategic investments focused on strengthening the capital market that facilitates economic

The municipal secondary was quiet after a volatile week that moved municipal rates higher and ratios into a range that investors say are a more satisfactory level to engage in the asset class following months of stagnant rates. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed Friday while U.S. Treasuries ended the week at lower yields — sub

Michigan entered fiscal 2022 Friday with a new budget director and a $70 billion budget after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the final pieces that were negotiated with lawmakers amid a flood of federal relief and surging state tax revenues. On Thursday, Whitmer named Christopher Harkins, director of the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency, to replace outgoing

Federal authorities dropped the hammer Thursday on the former head of fixed income trading at the now defunct Atlanta-based IFS Securities Inc. for allegedly engaging in unauthorized and speculative trading activity that bankrupted the firm. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed criminal and civil

September municipal bond issuance volume fell 32.6% year-over-year as a massive drop in taxable and refunding issuance puts the market slightly behind 2020’s record-breaking pace. Total September volume was $36.085 billion in 856 deals versus $53.513 billion in 1,395 issues a year earlier. Taxable issuance totaled $6.533 billion in 152 issues, down 63.6% from $17.945

Municipals were slightly weaker outside of five years Wednesday, with triple-A benchmarks cutting levels by a basis point or two, after four days of a correction to higher yields not seen since February and March of this year. U.S. Treasuries pulled back from Tuesday’s losses earlier in the morning, but yields rose into the afternoon

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his counterparts at the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank of England voiced cautious optimism Wednesday that supply-chain disruptions lifting inflation rates around the world would ultimately prove temporary. “The current inflation spike is really a consequence of supply constraints meeting very strong demand, and that is

Tarrant County, Texas, will be authorized to issue $400 million of transportation bonds if voters approve the proposal Nov. 2. The bond issue by the fast-growing county that includes Fort Worth and its booming suburbs would be its first for transportation since 2006. Proposition A splits the $400 million into two categories. Half of the

State and local governments would be encouraged to consider public-private partnerships for complicated projects like rural broadband or large transportation developments under the bipartisan infrastructure bill being debated by Congress this week. The legislation doubles private activity bond volume for surface transportation projects to $30 billion from $15 billion, a central financing tool for P3