Bonds

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board has discussed completing the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority restructuring without a local law supporting it, since members of a Senate panel appear opposed to such legislation. The board reached preliminary terms with the bondholders on a Restructuring Support Agreement in spring 2019. As currently proposed, the Puerto Rico Senate

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board passed a fiscal plan Thursday with 18% more spending through fiscal 2026 compared to the fiscal plan it approved in April. The fiscal plan projects $107.5 billion in Puerto Rico government spending and federal spending for Puerto Rico, from the current fiscal year to fiscal 2026. The April fiscal plan

The Brookings Institution is seeking research papers for its 11th annual Municipal Finance Conference set to be held July 18-19. The conference is a joint venture of Brookings, Brandeis University, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Chicago and this year is especially interested in papers on “the impact of COVID on state

Municipals continued their ascent to higher yields Wednesday, even before the Federal Open Market Committee said it would “soon” raise interest rates. U.S. Treasury yields spiked following the FOMC statement and Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments. “Powell’s seeming unwillingness to dismiss some of the more-hawkish scenarios for the path of policy this year, leaving all options

KeyBanc Capital Markets has hired veteran public finance professional Mark Miller to fill the shoes of Jeff Freese, who will retire in April as lead of the firm’s central office team, while the firm’s Cain Brothers division is bolstering its healthcare team with the addition of Chris Whitley. Miller recently joined KeyBanc in its Columbus

Municipals faced more cuts to triple-A benchmark yields with the five-year hitting 1%, a level not seen on Refinitiv MMD’s curve since May 2020 and the 10-year at 1.34%, a high not seen since April 2020 when the market was in recovery from the initial COVID-induced selloff. U.S. Treasuries were slightly weaker while equities ended

The broad nature of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s request for information on environmental, social, and governance practices in the municipal securities market is worrying some industry advocacy groups. Representatives from the National Association of Municipal Advisors, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and the National Association of Bond Lawyers discussed the issue Monday

Selling pressure on the short end continued on Monday and triple-A benchmark yields were cut by as much as five basis points there while U.S. Treasuries pared back earlier gains and equities rebounded from a large selloff earlier in the day. Ratios rose with the day’s moves with the municipal to UST five-year at 64%,

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s acting director for its Office of Municipal Securities singled out disclosures related to its Rule 15c2-12 as an area the office is watching closely, following an academic study that found serious deficiencies in continuing disclosure. Ernesto Lanza raised that subject in his remarks before the Government Finance Officers Association’s Committee

State and local governments are poised to withstand some of the Omicron-related economic damages thanks to more robust rainy day funds and billions of unspent federal aid, industry experts believe. “It’s continuing, unfortunately, and we’re in the middle of another surge right now,” said Eric Kim, senior director at Fitch Ratings, at the Volcker Alliance

Justin Brannan will head the New York City Council Finance Committee, Speaker Adrienne Adams announced. “My charge is to make sure we are spending wisely, safeguarding our city’s financial future, and fortifying the city’s social safety net for New Yorkers who need it most,” Brannan, a hardcore punk rocker before turning to politics, said when

Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain approved qualifying modifications to Puerto Rico Infrastructure and Finance Authority and Convention Center District Authority debt that included deep cuts to outstanding bonds. Swain issued her orders and findings of fact and conclusions of law on Thursday, affecting $1.9 billion of PRIFA bonds and $384 million of CCDA

The White House is urging cities and towns to set up infrastructure coordinators to take advantage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, speaking Friday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ winter meeting, said local officials should appoint advisors and task forces to coordinate with state and federal agencies

The University of Michigan’s healthy balance sheet puts it in a strong fiscal position to manage the cost of a $490 million legal settlement for abuse allegations against a former sports doctor, but it’s too early to assess whether its top ratings will escape future fallout. Rating agency analysts will have their eye on more

Maryland’s beleaguered Purple Line light rail project is set to tap the market with up to $700 million of private activity bonds marking a fresh round of financing to restart the long-delayed public private partnership. Purple Line Transit Partners, the private concessionaire overseeing the project, is poised to price the PABs in “coming weeks” as

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve released a long-awaited report examining the potential ramifications of issuing a digital version of the U.S. dollar, saying it would not create one without a clear directive from elected officials. The 40-page report, released Thursday, coincides with a request for feedback from the Fed on the impact of a hypothetical

As revenues rise amid a cautious optimism, New York State is planning to bulk up its budget reserves to defend against future economic downturns. N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday unveiled the $216.3 billion fiscal 2023 executive budget that includes new spending and programs, but no new taxes, while raising the reserve level to 15%.

Municipals faced another weaker day with benchmark yield curves seeing two to four basis point cuts, underperforming a slightly better U.S. Treasury market, while equities ended in the red. Munis played catch up to the large selloff in Treasuries since Friday, holding municipal to UST ratios steady. The five-year was at 54%, 68% in 10

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has launched EMMA Labs, its “innovation sandbox” that aims to enhance and accelerate the use of data analytics throughout the municipal securities market. The platform builds off of data submitted through EMMA and with the roll out of the platform, launches two “Active Labs,”: a keyword search engine that sources

U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain approved the Plan of Adjustment for Puerto Rico’s central government bonds and obligations Tuesday afternoon, setting the stage for the commonwealth to exit bankruptcy after more than four years of intense negotiations over its massive debts. The action sets the restructuring terms for about $33 billion of debts