Bonds

The fracas between governors and legislatures over executive powers during the COVID-19 pandemic is reaching a new level in Pennsylvania — two proposed constitutional amendments. Keystone State voters on Tuesday will decide on two ballot measures that would limit the governor’s emergency disaster declaration powers and enable the state legislature to end a declaration with

Municipals held steady to slightly firmer in spots Friday after flat retail sales moved U.S. Treasuries stronger while equities gained back mid-week losses. Despite the slight pressure from economic data and overall market volatility, municipals continue to hold their own place in the capital markets. In the current environment, muni technicals are “simply overpowering,” said

Connecticut will bring three rating upgrades to the table when it comes to market with a $1 billion exempt and taxable general obligation deal set for Wednesday. Fitch Ratings on Friday lifted Connecticut to AA-minus from A-plus. The action “reflects enhancements to the state’s fiscal management practices in recent years that are materially increasing the

The Federal Reserve’s policy is in a good place right now, said Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, while playing down signals from data that she warns will be volatile as the economy reopens. “The volatility month-to-month I think is something we should expect, Mester said Friday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “We’re really at

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board voted to overrule the territory’s House of Representatives on spending for the privatization of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority transmission and distribution system. On Wednesday the House voted 43 to 0 with 2 abstentions against authorizing a revision to this year’s General Fund budget allocating $750 million for the

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board appears poised to do away with a requirement that dealers provide disclosures to customers who may not be invested in municipals, a request industry groups have been making for years. The MSRB requested comment May 14 on potential changes to Rules G-10 on investor and municipal advisory client education and

Connecticut officials enter this week’s $1 billion general obligation bond sale armed with four upgrades in six weeks, including three within two days last week. Fitch Ratings on Friday upgraded the state’s GO rating to AA-minus. One day earlier, Kroll Bond Rating Agency and S&P Global Ratings elevated Connecticut to AA and A-plus, respectively. Moody’s

California Gov. Gavin Newsom capped a week of daily multi-billion dollar additions to his proposed $267.8 billion budget Friday with a plan to bring universal broadband to the state and expand Medi-Cal to undocumented immigrants over the age of 60. The governor began the week by declaring the state will a $75.7 billion surplus and

As Colorado lawmakers seek a long-term source of transportation funding, the Centennial State is issuing $500 million of certificates of participation for rural highway projects. This week’s deal, scheduled to price Wednesday, is part of $2 billion authorized by the 2017 legislature under Senate Bill 17-267 for projects through fiscal 2022. The financing will go

U.S. employers added the most jobs in seven months with improvement across most industries in March, as more vaccinations and fewer business restrictions supercharged the labor market recovery. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 916,000 last month and February employment was revised up to a 468,000 gain, according to a Labor Department report Friday. The unemployment rate

The United States Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unanimously for Georgia over Florida in a dispute about how the Apalachicola River Basin’s water should be divided up between them. Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered the opinion. It was not the first time the Supreme Court heard arguments about the case. In 2018 it sent the

Municipals were little changed Wednesday with a firm tone as few deals priced, more inflows were reported and markets began digesting President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure plan. The $2 trillion proposal, combined with the shortened week and the arrival of the second quarter, are overshadowing the market, according to Anthony Valeri, director of investment management

Municipal bond industry leaders speaking Wednesday at The Bond Buyer’s National Outlook Conference said the coronavirus pandemic left the municipal bond market in generally decent shape after causing disruption in some sectors while leaving others virtually untouched. “I think one characteristic of this pandemic, in addition to all the other horrible parts of it, is

Virginia has advanced its $3.7 billion program to create a connection between the Northeast and Southeast rail corridors and to expand and improve passenger, commuter and freight rail service in the state. Gov. Ralph Northam Tuesday announced the signing of agreements with intercity passenger carrier Amtrak, freight railroad CSX, and commuter train operator Virginia Railway

Three House Democrats say they won’t support any of President Joe Biden’s tax hikes to fund his infrastructure proposal unless the plan includes a repeal of the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, making them just one vote shy of the number needed to block the president’s tax plan in the narrowly divided

Members of the House of Represenatives reintroduced a bill to bring back tax-exempt advance refunding, a move made days before the Biden administration is set to roll out its infrastructure plan. Reps. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, and Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., on Monday reintroduced their Investing in Our Communities Act, which would reverse changes made during the

Municipal secondary trading was quiet but a firmer tone emerged on Monday as both the holiday-shortened week and the approaching end of the first quarter made for a steady market. “It’s a very light calendar this week because of the holiday,” a New York trader said on Monday looking ahead at the upcoming Good Friday

Gov. Tom Wolf wants to put Pennsylvania ahead of a national curve by phasing out the gas tax as a funding source. Wolf, a second-term Democrat, said the tax has become unreliable for funding Pennsylvania’s vast transportation network. He signed an executive order establishing the Transportation Revenue Options Commission, which he said will develop funding

A man charged with operating as an unregistered investment adviser was arrested earlier this week along with six others on wire fraud charges related to an alleged scheme to defraud a city in Puerto Rico. A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico indicted Eugenio García-Jiménez and six others with 33 counts of

A California business lobbying group says the prohibition of state tax cuts in the federal stimulus bill has stalled tax credits, fee waivers and other critical economic stimulus and anti-poverty programs. The California Business Roundtable, an umbrella organization for the state’s business groups, has written to the U.S. Treasury Department asking for clarity on language