Bonds

President Biden said Monday his Justice Department will defend current law that denies Supplemental Security Income benefits to Puerto Rico residents but he called on congress to amend the Social Security Act to extend those benefits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled in April 2020 that the prevailing federal practice of

Armed with strong rating agency reviews and with an eye toward infrastructure and workforce development, Maine expects to come to market the week of June 7 with a $99 million negotiated general obligation bond sale. The deal is comprised of $82 million of Series B tax-exempt and $17 million of Series A federally taxable bonds,

House Democrats have introduced a five-year $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill that the committee will consider next week. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. unveiled their INVEST in America Act Friday. The bill would provide federal funding for roads, bridges, mass transit, and rail infrastructure which is important for many issuers

Whether voters will get to decide proposed Detroit charter revisions opposed by the city’s mayor as a threat to its fiscal solvency is headed to the Michigan Supreme Court. The Michigan Supreme Court agreed Friday to the Detroit Charter Review Commission’s request that it take up the question after an appellate court Thursday upheld a

California voters rejected a school bond measure for the first time in 30 years in March 2020 and state Sen. Steven Glazer, D-Orinda, wants a do-over. His Senate Bill 22, the Public Preschool, K-12 and College Health and Safety Bond Act, passed the Senate Thursday on a 31-5 vote. If the State Assembly approves it,

A Puerto Rico court rejected a motion from several bond underwriters to dismiss a bond insurer suit against them for misrepresentations in their Official Statements. Senior Judge Ladi Buono de Jesús issued the decision Wednesday from her position in the Court of First Instance in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bond insurers National Public Finance Guarantee

Municipal bonds strengthened on the long end Friday after the latest employment report showed continued job growth and buoyed equities and Treasuries. The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose 559,000 in May as the jobless rate fell to 5.8% from 6.1%. The numbers showed slow but steady strength in the labor market, but came in

Illinois lawmakers signed off on the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority’s subsidy request, providing a backstop for the agency to weather the pandemic’s lingering wounds. The agency also is finalizing its next debt restructuring to provide another tool to manage loss of tax and operational revenues after the pandemic shut down the convention business last

Ongoing large inflows into the municipal market sustained a firm tone Thursday as interest rates remain on a gradual decline in spite of the volatility in the Treasury market, but most participants await Friday’s jobs report. Refinitiv Lipper reported $997.358 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds, of that $372 million was high-yield. Triple-A

The Federal Reserve Board plans to begin gradually selling a portfolio of corporate debt purchased through an emergency lending facility launched last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading panic through financial markets. “Portfolio sales will be gradual and orderly, and will aim to minimize the potential for any adverse impact on market functioning by

The Puerto Rico Senate filed suit Tuesday afternoon against the privatization of the transmission and distribution systems of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, though analysts suggest the suit does not have a strong chance of success. Later Tuesday, a judge in the Court of the First Instance, based in San Juan, issued an order

Illinois lawmakers passed a fiscal 2022 budget that pays down COVID-19-related short-term borrowing, raises $600 million of revenue by eliminating corporate incentives, and uses $2.5 billion of the $8.1 billion ticketed for the state in the American Rescue Plan Act. The budget package laid out in amendments to Senate Bill 2800 includes a $42.3 billion

Municipals were little changed Tuesday, largely ignoring a weaker U.S. Treasury market, as participants await light supply with a lot of cash on hand. Municipal to UST ratios started the week hovering at recent levels, closing at 61% in 10 years and 66% in 30 years, according to Refinitiv MMD. ICE Data Services saw ratios

The multibillion-dollar New York-New Jersey Gateway train tunnel project can move forward following a milestone ruling from two federal agencies announced Friday. The Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) on the Hudson Tunnel Project, which allows pre-construction activities such as real estate

Grace Dunlap, Chair of the Board at Bryant Miller Olive P.A., is the first public finance attorney to win the Ralph A. Marsicano Award. The 2020 award was presented by the City, County and Local Government Law section of the Florida Bar on May 12. The award is given by the CCLGL section to an

Vermont’s $153.3 million sale of general obligation bonds in three series generated a nearly $30 million premium on top of that, state treasurer Beth Pearce said. Proceeds will fund new capital projects and refinance debt. The refunding portion generated more than $7.6 million of savings on a net present value basis, according to Pearce. “Investors

The Chicago Transit Authority heads into the market next week to refund $127 million of federal grant anticipation-backed bonds with positive rating news in tow. S&P Global Ratings lifted its outlook to positive from stable on a portion of the CTA’s grant-backed bonds being refunded, citing improving coverage ratios. S&P also moved the outlook to

There’s so much spare cash sloshing around U.S. funding markets that investors are choosing to park almost half a trillion dollars at the central bank — earning absolutely nothing. Usage of the Federal Reserve’s reverse repo facility — a mechanism that’s part of the central bank’s arsenal for helping to steer short-term interest rates —

Municipals were a touch firmer Friday with a few stronger high-grade prints clearing at levels to move triple-A benchmarks a basis point better while U.S. Treasuries were also a basis point or two lower ahead of what will be a low-issuance week to start the summer. All triple-A benchmark 10-year yields are now below 1%,

The Biden administration is proposing the authorization of $50 billion in direct-pay qualified School Infrastructure Bonds and doubling the limit on tax-exempt private activity bonds for transportation infrastructure to $30 billion. The Treasury’s so-called Green Book of proposed changes to tax law released Friday also calls for an enhancement of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit