Bonds

Illinois’ flawed pension funding system weighs heavily on the ratings of some struggling local government ratings and legislative action to date has made little headway in solving the quagmire, S&P Global Ratings warns. State legislative action consolidating suburban and downstate public safety funds and moving Chicago to an actuarial-based contribution help but they fall short

Municipals struck a firmer tone on the short end Tuesday as the new-issue calendar got underway, with strong competitive loans, while U.S. Treasuries held steady and equities strengthened into the afternoon. Triple-A benchmark yield curves were bumped on the short end as bonds inside of 10 years have been more tightly bid. Municipal-to-UST ratios were

Jeffrey Mark Baker, 72, of River Edge, N.J., a career municipal analyst who was known as a leader and innovator in the municipal market and was chair of two municipal organizations, died on July 26. Baker joined Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972 as a municipal analyst, and later retired from its predecessor firm JPMorgan Chase

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said that if the next two monthly U.S. employment reports show continued gains, he could back an announcement soon on scaling back the central bank’s bond purchases. “I think you could be ready to do an announcement by September,” Waller said Monday in an interview on CNBC. “That depends on

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation moving governance of Chicago Public Schools to an elected school board, leaving the fate of $500 million of city financial obligations to the district unsettled. House Bill 2908 passed the legislature in June over the objections of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Its sponsors sent it to Pritzker’s desk after promising

Florida’s ports will be getting $250 million in state and federal funds to help speed their economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday. The money is coming in through the federal American Rescue Plan President Biden signed in March and its Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. It is

A Michigan Supreme Court order paves the way for Detroit voters to decide the fate of charter revisions opposed by Mayor Mike Duggan, who warns they threaten the city’s fiscal independence. The state’s high court, in a split decision published Thursday, reversed Wayne County Circuit Court and Court of Appeals decisions removing Proposal P from

Puerto Rico net General Fund revenues came in 3.1% ahead of projections in May. The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury said through the first 11 months of fiscal 2020-2021, net revenues were ahead by 1.14%, at $10.2 billion. The Treasury Department’s actual figures are compared to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s projections. In May

Triple-A benchmarks were little changed on Friday while U.S. Treasuries ended the week stronger amid mixed economic data. Muni participants await a new month with growing issuance, but perhaps not quite enough as issuers are hesitant to add more debt before final word from Washington on infrastructure. The net negative supply likely will keep interest

Issuance in July fell more than 30% short of 2020 figures but is roughly 13% above the month’s 10-year average, while total issuance for the year-to-date is ahead of last year’s record-breaking pace by a small margin. At $31.9 billion, municipal bond volume was 33.1% lower this month than July 2020 when it totaled a

As climate change accelerates, electric grids are expected to experience severe weather events that are well beyond the historical conditions for which they were built. In this session, moderator Donald J. Gonzales, senior managing director of the San Antonio office of Estrada Hinojosa & Co., Inc. is joined by panelists Chris Jumper, director of Assured;

The Chicago Board of Education approved a federal aid-infused budget amid warnings of a financial cliff that could knock it off the track needed to win back investment-grade ratings. The board unanimously approved the $9.3 billion spending package for the fiscal year that began July 1. It directs $707 million toward capital and spends down

The Federal Reserve has toyed for years with opening something called a standing repo facility to prevent short-term rates markets from blowing up. Following a 2019 disruption and another early in the pandemic, the central bank finally took that step. The permanent repurchase-agreement facility, one for domestic firms and another for foreign ones, will backstop

While the Biden administration and Congress hash out plans for national infrastructure spending, shrinking borrowing costs across sectors and credit quality offer an opportunity that state and local governments shouldn’t waste, Merritt Research Services says in a new report. It’s no secret that interest rates have held steady at historical lows despite some COVID-19 pandemic

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board reached a deal for an improved treatment of the Puerto Rico Infrastructure and Finance Authority rum tax bonds with two bond insurers, which had been key opponents of the central government debt deal. The board announced the deal with Ambac Assurance and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company Tuesday morning in a

Municipals were slightly firmer in secondary trading while new-issues were repriced to lower yields from initial pricing wires. U.S. Treasuries were stronger and equities sold off ahead of the FOMC meeting Wednesday. The current market technicals combined with a slowdown in issuance is creating a general malaise in the municipal market, according to a New

Municipals were stronger on the short end, hitting record low levels for the second time this year, in quiet trading while U.S. Treasuries were treading water and equities did much the same as all markets await Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting announcement. Triple-A benchmarks moved one to two basis points lower inside of five

An increase in cyberattacks may become a drag on not-for-profit healthcare sector ratings as hospitals and systems spend more to protect themselves and confront potential ransom payouts, Fitch Ratings warns in a new report. “The healthcare sector has seen a historic increase in the number and severity of cyber assaults over the past 18 months.

A busy Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board quarterly board meeting saw Patrick Brett selected as fiscal year 2022 chair, the adoption of a multi-year strategic plan, decisions on several regulatory initiatives and the adoption of a $43 million operating budget. Those and other developments emerged at the MSRB’s in-person meeting held July 21-22 in Washington. Brett,

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board cast doubt Friday on a temporary deal between the truckers and the interim governor which is pausing the truckers’ strike. Around 9:30 p.m. Thursday Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced the temporary deal in two tweets. The deal was with the striking truckers’ union, Frente Amplio de Camioneros. Pierluisi was off the