Bonds

Rich valuations 10-years and in, municipal outperformance to U.S. Treasuries and an overall drumbeat that supply is not meeting demand — yet cash sits sidelined — was the theme for the week. All else being equal, expectations for more of the same will greet the market next week, along with several New York credits and

Houston will end its eight-year-long impasse with its firefighters union under a $650 million settlement financed through the issuance of judgment bonds, Mayor John Whitmire announced Thursday. The agreement provides lump sum payments to current and retired firefighters to cover back wages owed while they worked without a contract since the last one expired in

IDEA Public Schools in Texas will operate under state oversight as part of a settlement agreement with the charter school network, which was the target of a probe since 2021 into alleged financial and operational improprieties. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) appointed two conservators to oversee and direct IDEA’s actions, facilitate a needs assessment, conduct

Municipals were weaker Thursday, but outperformed U.S. Treasury market losses, as the final large deals of the week priced, including several housing issues. Equities ended down. Municipal bond mutual fund inflows continued for the third consecutive week as LSEG Lipper reported investors put $295.5 million into the funds for the week ending Wednesday with high-yield

Expansionary fiscal policy, Biden’s industrial policy and strong consumer spending are expected to outweigh higher interest rates and restrained growth, decreasing the likelihood of a recession in 2024, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast. January’s drop in retail sales and housing starts was due more to the weather in the eastern U.S. than a pullback

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as two billion-dollar-plus deals from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and CommonSpirit Health took focus. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 59%, the three-year at 59%, the five-year at 57%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year

Munis were steady as the primary market took focus with the $2.8 billion retail pricing from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities rallied after the Consumer Price Index showed inflation ticked up in February. Bond yields didn’t move much upon the CPI release, but Treasuries grew

Municipal issuers who’ve yet to make a habit of disclosing material climate-related risks may be at risk of violating the Securities and Exchange Commission’s antifraud provisions, following the rollout of its newly updated climate rule last week. The SEC’s new climate rules, reviled by many on both sides of the aisle for either doing too

The National Football League’s Chicago Bears are pursuing plans to build a publicly owned domed stadium in Chicago, boosted by $2 billion of private funds.  The team has changed course after chasing a planned stadium development in Arlington Heights, a northwest suburb of Chicago, where talks were bogged down amid disagreements with three area school

Raymond James has scooped up 10 former Citi employees, including six senior bankers, in an expansion effort that establishes a public finance office in Seattle for the firm, creates a dedicated public power practice, grows its West Coast footprint and enhances the firm’s housing finance group. Decisions by UBS and Citi to exit public finance

One tool aimed at helping to solve California’s notorious affordable housing crisis appears to be headed for a crisis of its own. Defaults are rising on highly leveraged unrated workforce housing bonds, primarily issued over the last few years in California to purchase apartment buildings, when interest rates were near zero. So far, six out

President Biden reignited the tax debate in his State of the Union address Wednesday, touting the progress he’s made so far in his three years in office and the amount of work still needed to be done on taxes, setting up a larger partisan battle for the coming year. “The way to make the tax

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined NewEdge Securities, the brokerage arm of NewEdge Capital Group $90,000, in addition to restitution of $44,927.83 for charging unfair prices on 62 corporate bond transactions and six municipal bond transactions. Along with the fine and restitution, the firm has been censured for violating FINRA Rules 2121 and 2010,

As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act nears its midpoint, the massive uptick in discretionary grants for transportation infrastructure threatens to undermine the law’s effectiveness because of chronic delays and bureaucratic confusion. That’s what county and state representatives told lawmakers Thursday during a House Transportation & Infrastructure hearing on the rollout of the IIJA’s discretionary

Municipals were steady ahead of a larger new-issue calendar, while U.S. Treasuries and equities were mixed after a better-than-expected jobs report. High-yield and taxable munis outperformed this week, Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply grows to $13.27 billion with $9 billion plus of it pricing next week and opportunistic cash continues to sit on the sidelines.

A routine change of leadership on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is looking more like a power struggle in a legislative body that carries weight in public finance policy and rulings. On Wednesday Rep. Rick Crawford ,R-Ark., formally announced he was running for the Chairmanship of the T&I Committee while Rep. Sam Graves,

A group of investors have challenged the legality of the Regents of the University of California’s ability to trigger an extraordinary redemption provision to refund their outstanding Build America Bonds. This may not be the last challenge as several issuers have made clear they intend to use the ERP to refund billions of their outstanding

A Houston City Council vote Wednesday on initial financing for a $2.55 billion terminal renovation project at George Bush Intercontinental Airport was once again stalled by the city controller’s office. An advisory from Mayor John Whitmire’s office late last week indicated the city was finally ready to move the project forward with the placement of

Loop Capital Markets has added four former Citi and UBS public finance professionals to its ranks, joining the growing list of firms to expand their banking teams in the muni space. John Malpiede, John Giammarino and Alain Garcia will be joining Loop Capital from Citi, and Candace Kelly is moving over from UBS.  “The additions

The headwinds facing the University of Idaho’s plan to acquire the University of Phoenix got a lot stronger this week; as did obstacles toward issuing bonds to fund the $685 million purchase through U of I’s affiliated nonprofit, Four Three Education. On Tuesday, the state’s House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 26 in a