Bonds

Bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain will give the U.S. Department of Justice until early February to file opinions on the constitutionality of the law that was the basis for the restructuring deal, meaning a final decision on the Puerto Rico Plan of Adjustment may be pushed into 2022. Swain gave the District Attorney until Jan.

Chicago will have its eye on which among five bids offers the best odds for fiscal and economic gains as it takes the next step in picking a developer to build and operate a casino and resort complex. The city received five proposals from potential developers and operators by a late October deadline. On Friday,

Municipals were lightly traded and outperformed a large sell-off in U.S. Treasuries while equities were mixed following President Biden’s decision to renominate Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chairman. Since Powell is seen “as slightly less dovish than [Lael] Brainard, more rate hikes and more immediacy of those hikes is making its way into the yield

Last week’s intervention by the city of New York to disqualify a law firm from a qui tam case involving alleged price fixing of municipal bonds brings conflicts of interest to the forefront of already prolonged and complex litigation. Managing conflicts of interest is not only important for attorneys but for municipal advisors as well,

Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin released an audit Wednesday showing the city has failed to keep its legally binding promise to repair its 9,000 miles of sidewalks. A legal settlement finalized in 2016 requires the city to spend $1.37 billion over 30 years to address broken sidewalks, inaccessible curb ramps and other access barriers

COVID-19 stimulus spending caused 2021 state expenditure estimates to sky-rocket to the highest level in 35 years. That was according to the Fiscal 2019-2021 State Expenditure Report released by the National Association of State Budget Officers Friday. Total state spending reached $2.65 trillion in fiscal year 2021, a jump from the $2.28 trillion observed in

A federal request for a 10- to 15-week pause in the Puerto Rico Plan of Adjustment confirmation process as well as the related constitutional challenge to the underlying bankruptcy law may threaten the Puerto Rico debt deal. Five attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice, led by Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, asked Puerto

The Securities and Exchange Commission Friday censured a McKinsey & Co. affiliate and ordered it to pay $18 million to settle allegations that MIO Partners had access to material nonpublic information about issuers, including Puerto Rico, while it was overseeing investments that included the issuers’ securities. Active partners at McKinsey acting as restructuring consultants for

Municipals were stronger Friday on the back of the U.S. Treasury rally amid concerns of rising COVID-19 outbreaks in Europe. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped by one to three basis points beginning around the five-year mark with the larger moves out longer, but the asset class underperformed the five- to six-basis point moves in UST. Ratios

The House on Friday passed the Build Back Better Act, teeing up a fresh round of work in the Senate that municipal market advocates hope will offer a chance to further amend the bill to include muni priorities. The $1.7 trillion, 2,100-page measure, President Joe Biden’s signature social and climate spending package, passed to cheers

During a contentious meeting of the Louisiana Bond Commission Thursday, J.P. Morgan Chase was disqualified from underwriting a $700 million bond refinancing due to unanswered questions about its gun policies. State Treasurer John Schroder and his staff announced the decision to recommend that Wells Fargo Corporate & Investment Banking underwrite the deal after he said

The rapid population growth Idaho has experienced has transformed its metropolitan areas from small towns into fast-paced cities. The state managed that growth well enough on the fiscal side, by maintaining high reserve levels and taking budgetary actions when needed, to earn a Fitch Ratings boost to AAA. Fitch elevated Idaho’s issuer default rating from

Teachers’ and judges’ unions and organizations argued Wednesday with the Puerto Rico Oversight Board about how the bankruptcy court must interpret a local law on pensions, with the outcome likely to determine the viability of the proposed Plan of Adjustment. The teachers and judges, through their attorneys, said Act 53 bars the board, if it

Mississippi’s $1.2 billion general obligation bond commands the stage this week, but a much smaller deal that came to market last month from Vicksburg highlights an innovative way the Magnolia State’s cities and counties are meeting their infrastructure needs. On Thursday, the state is pricing $1.2 billion of GOs, its biggest sale since 2015, when

Municipals faced some pressure Tuesday on another day of a weaker U.S. Treasury market while equities made gains. A large new-issue calendar began pricing, with a few deals bumped off the day-to-day calendar. Triple-A benchmarks saw cuts of one to two basis points. Ratios held in a range Tuesday. Municipal-to-Treasury ratios were at 49% in

Updated economic and fiscal data from The Pew Charitable Trusts on how state economies are faring amidst the pandemic shows that federal aid to people and businesses has kept states in better than expected fiscal health. Pew’s data, which was collected from each state’s annual financial reports for a 10-year period, also show that long-term

President Joe Biden Monday signed into law a $1.1 trillion infrastructure package that will infuse billions into state and local governments. “We’re taking a monumental step forward to build back better as a nation,” said Biden at a White House ceremony attended by lawmakers, governors, mayors and others. “Things are going to turn around in

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly was considered by the Biden administration for a seat on the U.S. central bank’s board and she declined, according to two people familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden has multiple opportunities to reshape the leadership of the Fed including the chair and two vice chair positions,

Residents in the San Diego area and across the Mexico border in Tijuana, received welcome news when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to move forward on $627 million of investments in water quality projects. The projects, which will now undergo environmental review, will capture and treat sewage that routinely flows from the Tijuana

Raising the cap on state and local tax deductions to $80,000 from $10,000 would reduce the federal income tax liability by $55.9 billion in 2021, making it less concentrated among those with the highest incomes and making it $35.3 billion cheaper for the government than repealing the SALT cap altogether. That was the takeaway from