Bonds

Municipals sold off Thursday with more cuts across the curve as a correction has ensued for the asset class just ahead of the summer reinvestment season. U.S. Treasuries saw losses and equities were also in the red. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows as investors pulled $217.6 million from the funds

As states and the federal government grapple with ways to replace or complement the diminishing gas tax, the idea of a per-mile user fee has gained public support over the last decade. That’s according to the latest annual survey from the Mineta Transportation Institute, based at San Jose State University, which for the last 15

The flooding in Vermont last summer illustrates climate change’s impact on U.S. localities and their financial responses. Severe floods that were triggered by several days of heavy rainfall in Vermont left homes washed out and businesses and municipal facilities with severe physical damage. It also left some of the rural communities in the state, which

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology violated its bond covenant at the beginning of the month when it missed a monthly $1.2 million interest payment to the bond trustee. Jessica Warren, Harrisburg University’s executive director of marketing and communications, said the university only needs to make interest payments twice a year on its outstanding bond

Municipals took a breather Friday ahead of the long weekend and a much smaller calendar after seeing yields rise and underperform U.S. Treasuries, pushing ratios to levels last seen in November 2023. In addition to “more attractive raw yields, municipal underperformance has allowed relative values to improve as well,” noted Kim Olsan, senior vice president

Debt issued by the California Community Choice Finance Authority, a conduit for the state’s community choice aggregators, has climbed to nearly $10 billion in the three years since its inception. The first California CCA agency was created in 2010 to offer communities alternatives to purchasing power from private utilities and to encourage growth in more

The U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s financial situation is the worst in more than 30 years, one board director said Thursday. Board Director Hubert Turnbull made the remark at the board’s monthly meeting as a prelude to asking CEO Andrew Smith to explain the authority’s financial situation. WAPA had to turn to the

A suit filed against the Palm Beach County, Florida, comptroller for his county’s investments in Israel bonds puts a state law targeting socially focused investments in the spotlight from a different direction. The lawsuit filed last week against Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo cites a law Florida’s Republican government passed last year

Munis were weaker Wednesday as the primary market saw a slew of new deals price, adding pressure to secondary market trading. U.S. Treasury yields rose throughout most of the curve and equities ended down. Triple-A yields rose as much as 11 basis points while USTs were weaker by five basis points. As munis have seen

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration feels Chicago is being unfairly rated solely on its pension liability, despite its sizable population and what it calls the most diversified economy of any major U.S. city.  Those are some of the takeaways from the 2024 Chicago Investors Conference, held on Friday at the Chicago Cultural Center in the Loop.

Municipals weakened further Tuesday in secondary trading as a large new-issue slate took focus in the primary market. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were in the black. Muni yields were cut up to seven basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell two to three basis points, pushing muni to UST ratios

Texas lawmakers held a marathon hearing last week to grill public university leaders on their compliance with a 2023 state law banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices at their schools or face financial consequences.  Ahead of the hearing, Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton, who chairs the chamber’s Subcommittee on Higher Education, warned higher education

Greensboro, North Carolina, is expected to price $175 million of bonds next week, $25 million of which are taxable bonds, with the proceeds being used to redeem outstanding bond anticipation notes. The North Carolina Local Government Commission approved the Greensboro bonds earlier this month as well as $212 million of bonds from Raleigh, with an

The median audit time for all municipal bond sectors rose nearly 10.5% from 2011 to 2022, according to a new report from the University of Illinois-Chicago and Merritt Research Services.  The report also found a direct correlation between audit timeliness and credit rating for all governmental bond sectors and a majority of revenue bond sectors.

The Federal Reserve’s delay of interest-rate cuts in a bid to temper inflation runs the risk of falling behind the curve, according to Mohamed El-Erian. “The Fed pivoted on the basis of data. It was the opposite of the pivot that they did in December — now they have to do a U-turn,” El-Erian, the

States are casting around for solutions to a drop in gas tax revenues which includes hiked registration fees and the expansion of toll roads, which remains politically sensitive.  “Various projections from state DOTs, think tanks, and economists show that gas tax revenue, which is the largest source of revenue for state transportation trust funds, is

A Senate Finance Committee hearing led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, contemplated ways to smooth funding for rural hospitals as the number in the red has spiked in recent years. Rural hospitals and clinics across the U.S., including in Oregon, have been particularly hard hit by the challenges facing healthcare over the past several years.

Municipals were steady to slightly weaker in spots ahead of a $12 billion-plus calendar, while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were mixed near the close There are nearly 30 new-issues over $100 million on tap across the credit spectrum, led by the week’s largest negotiated deal from Harris County, Texas, with $950 million of

Virginia Beach tapped the municipal bond market to help fund a surf park development backed by multi-Grammy award winning artist Pharrell Williams.  The Virginia Beach Development Authority priced about $189 million of debt on Thursday with some of the bond proceeds financing the construction of a 3,500-person entertainment venue, parking facilities and land acquisitions, as

Exchange-traded funds have seen inflows over the past several weeks as demand grows, showing improved retail investor sentiment and a better market environment overall. LSEG Lipper reported muni ETFs saw $91 million of inflows for the week ending Wednesday after $922 million of inflows the week ending May 8, while the Investment Company Institute reported