Municipal bond yields rose by as much as seven basis points in the belly of the curve Thursday, playing catch-up to the U.S. Treasury market, while Refinitiv Lipper reported another large round of inflows, a nod from investors that they remain engaged in the market, regardless of low rates. Refinitiv Lipper reported $1.85 billion of
Bonds
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board tried to expel a suit against the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and, at the same hearing, Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain said she would not send out a central government disclosure statement until she was confident all parties had made sincere efforts for consensus. Both developments took
Two veteran municipal analyst professionals — John Kenward and Kathy Evers — retired this spring from Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings and Kate Boatright has moved over from the analyst side to take on Evers’ role as head of the U.S. relationship management team. The Dallas-based Boatright, who was a senior director for the U.S.
The E.&J. Gallo Winery will build a new plant in South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster and the state Department of Commerce said Tuesday. The $423 million production facility and distribution center in Chester County is expected to create 496 new jobs over the next eight years. In May, the Commerce Department received authorization from the
Municipals played catch up to U.S. Treasuries and were softer outside of 10 years, but the primary was the focus Tuesday with several large new issues repriced to lower and higher yields. Triple-A benchmarks rose one to two basis points, USTs were little changed on the day in the 10-year and off a basis point
The nine justices of the Supreme Court are scheduled to huddle behind closed doors June 24 to decide whether a potentially landmark case involving the taxation of telework will be placed on their docket for the fall term. The Biden administration last month asked the justices to not take this case involving temporary taxation of
Municipals were little changed Monday as the market awaits the larger new-issue calendar and participants position themselves ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. After a week of U.S. Treasury strength, rates rose Monday bringing the 10-year back to 1.50% after hitting 1.43% Thursday, a three-month low. Municipals did not follow and few participants anticipate any
The Internal Revenue Service has told the city of Winchester, Virginia it closed an audit of $28.6 million in 2012 general obligation refunding bonds without taking any adverse action. Winchester announced the decision Thursday in a public notice on the EMMA database of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. “By letter dated June 1, 2021, the
A $4.4 billion, three-year boost in Wisconsin revenue projections will drive its once barren budget reserve to record levels and throw more fuel into the partisan showdown over the next state budget. The Legislature Fiscal Bureau’s fresh round of revenue projections – which are offered biennially in the spring to allow lawmakers to finalize the
Two bipartisan Senate infrastructure proposals unveiled Thursday have raised hope that the Biden administration will avert a Democrats-only approach. One involves a wide-ranging framework worked out by 10 senators while the other involves more narrowly tailored legislation that would spend $78 billion on passenger and freight rail. The narrowly focused bill is the latest bipartisan
The private operator of Puerto Rico’s electric transmission and distribution systems has been plagued by outages and protests since it took over June 1, culminating in a 900,000-customer outage Thursday. LUMA Energy’s takeover of these systems is a central part of the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s plans to transform the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
As the market for ESG-certified bonds grows, Oregon-based Kestrel Verifiers is growing along with it. The eight-person women-owned firm has added two new employees this year and gained marquee clients like Stanford University, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the cities of Boston and Seattle, the latter a joint project
Municipal bonds were firm Friday as the market prepares for a healthy dose of new-issue supply while the Federal Reserve gets ready to decide the course of monetary policy in the face of rising inflation. Yields on top-quality munis were flat on the AAA scales Friday; on the week, muni yields were as much as
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of basic functional infrastructure, budget management and affordable housing to the vitality of cities. That’s the takeaway from the 2021 State of the Cities report released Thursday by the National League of Cities. Nearly 600 cities, towns and villages were surveyed along with 57 mayoral speeches that provided additional
Municipal bonds were mostly steady Thursday after a report showing an unexpectedly high increase in consumer prices pushed U.S. Treasuries and stocks higher. Yields on 10- and 30-year munis were firm on the AAA scales while the 10-year benchmark Treasury yield fell to 1.46%, its lowest level since March 4. For the 14th week in
Municipal bonds rallied Wednesday as triple-A benchmark yields fell as much as five basis points out long but bumps were seen across the curve, moving levels on high-grades below 1% on bonds maturing inside 14 years, while another round of billion-plus inflows were reported. The Investment Company Institute reported $1.089 billion of inflows into municipal
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi signed a bill Wednesday rejecting any pension cuts and undoing pension reforms enacted in 2017, despite these cuts and adjustments being part of the proposed plan of adjustment and approved fiscal plan. “The public pensioners dedicated years of their lives to the service of our people and were the engine
The Wayne County Airport Authority heads into the market Wednesday for a new-money sale riding the tailwinds of a more stable fiscal picture thanks to federal support and rebounding passenger levels. The authority on Wednesday will borrow $163 million of senior lien airport revenue bonds to finance projects already approved by airlines at the Detroit
Municipals rallied by one to four basis points Tuesday following strong bids for competitive Georgia and Wisconsin exempt general obligation bonds and various negotiated deals repriced to lower yields while the 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped to 1.53%, a low not hit since March. The move in Treasuries helped, but after weeks of limited tax-exempt supply
Munis were quiet Monday along with U.S. Treasuries as participants await the larger new-issue week that begins pricing Tuesday led by competitive deals from gilt-edged Georgia and the state of Wisconsin. Flat with little activity is how municipals started the week as ratios continued to be close to or at historic levels due to the