Bonds

Municipals were steady to firmer in spots Friday with decent two-way flow in the secondary but a quieter session overall after weeks of major volatility led by geopolitical turmoil and central bank policy uncertainty. Markets were generally calmer in a post-rate hike environment with clearer signals from the Fed for its plans going forward. Short

A restructuring deal for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority will not include any mediators who participated in the central government’s plan of adjustment while the Oversight Board doubled-down on excluding the local legislature in negotiating a new PREPA restructuring plan. Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain said in a court filing on Thursday

DPC DATA has integrated climate and social risk scores into a product that uses Spatial Risk Systems’ (SRS) geospatial data, mapping physical climate risk and carbon transition risk for more than 25,000 muni obligors. MuniESG Solutions was created in response to demand from DPC’s clients for climate risk data as the key component of a

Municipal yields fell on Thursday for the first time since March 1 as buyers emerged, while U.S. Treasuries rose out longer and equities improved again a day after the Fed’s first rate hike. Trading was stronger out of the gates, with large blocks of high-grades changing hands at stronger levels. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped

The Government Finance Officers Association has issued a warning urging government finance officers to abstain from using and investing in cryptocurrencies for government operations. “GFOA advises governments to abstain from accepting cryptocurrency for receivables, using cryptocurrency for payables, and investing in these products,” the GFOA advisory notice issued this week says. The group starkly warns

Political corruption taints the reputations of Chicago and Illinois and may influence decisions by businesses and voters at the polls, but it’s harder to measure the indirect toll on ratings, borrowing costs, and population trends. While federal authorities in recent decades have nabbed several dozen city and state officials including two past governors, the high

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board is working on a Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority restructuring deal that will avoid local government involvement, a board member said. Board Member Justin Peterson said Wednesday the new deal will be created without local government involvement and will not require local legislation. Peterson also told The Bond Buyer the

WASHINGTON — Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Biden’s pick for vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve, has taken herself out of the running for the position. Raskin submitted a letter to the White House on Tuesday saying she would step aside so the politically gridlocked Senate Banking Committee would move forward with the Biden

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday that averts a court order requiring the University of California-Berkeley to slash fall enrollment by 3,050 students. The lawsuit was brought by a group of Berkeley residents, who claim the university hasn’t built student housing commensurate with enrollment growth as outlined in its long-range development plan. Residents sued

Lawmakers approved a Washington state bill last week that would supplement existing highway bond authorizations with an additional pledge of vehicle-related fees. Gov. Jay Inslee has 20 days from the Legislature’s approval to sign or veto the bill. “The Legislature recognizes the importance of transportation electrification and the need to maintain stable funding for highway

Municipal analysts expect high-yield investors to welcome Tuesday’s restructuring of Puerto Rico’s central government bonds as the commonwealth begins repaying bondholders since it defaulted on its debt in 2016, marking an official end to a years-long, contentious bankruptcy process. The restructuring will affect $33.2 billion of bonds, making it the largest municipal restructuring in U.S.

Federal American Rescue Plan Act money was essential to maintaining fiscal solvency, several West Coast mayors said at a press conference after they narrowly avoided having unspent money clawed back by Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cut $15.6 billion in COVID aid from the federal omnibus budget bill approved Wednesday in order to avoid triggering

News about the “novel coronavirus” was intensifying in March 2020. The World Health Organization declared a pandemic March 11. The NBA and NHL suspended their seasons March 12 after a Utah Jazz basketball player tested positive for COVID-19. But most office workers reported to work on Friday, March 13. When they returned home, most knew

When Denver Water last year embarked on an ambitious, 15-year project to fully replace lead service lines in its system, one of the early hurdles proved to be meeting a key Internal Revenue Service test for tax-exempt financing. Before the utility could issue tax-exempt bonds for the $500 million program, which would replace both the

Municipal yields rose Friday to close out a rough week ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar and the Fed’s expected rate hike. “The yield curve has been — and will continue to be — the most important indicator we watch during Fed tightening cycles and rising rate environments,” said Wells Fargo Investment Institute Investment Strategy

Franklin Templeton hired Lloyd Nemerever to help the asset manager capitalize on growing interest from retail investors in separately managed accounts for municipal bonds. In the newly created role, Nemerever will lead portfolio management for Franklin Templeton Fixed Income’s retail municipal bond separately managed account strategies, including the construction of new portfolios customized to meet

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s request for information on environmental, social and governance considerations in the muni market represents a dangerous attempt by the board to bring politics into the realm of public finance and should be abandoned immediately. That’s according to Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks, who helped lead the coalition of officials from

Municipal yields rose up to seven basis points Thursday pushing the one-year triple-A muni to 1%, a level not seen since April 2020 during the initial COVID-led selloff. U.S. Treasuries pared back some losses near the close, but the two-year hit its highest level in over two years after inflation hit its highest in 40.

Tackling California’s housing crisis and alleviating the financial blow of rising gas prices and inflation are hot button issues as the governor’s May budget revision draws near. Gov. Gavin Newsom promised a gas tax rebate in his State of the State speech Tuesday night and unveiled a CARE Court program last week aimed at getting

Detroit’s post-Chapter 9 fiscal progress despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s revenue blows drew an upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service that moves the city two notches away from investment grade. Moody’s raised the rating Wednesday one notch to Ba2 from Ba3 and signaled by leaving a positive outlook on the rating that another upgrade could be in