Bonds

Municipals were steady Tuesday as the new-issue calendar picked up steam, including nearly $1 billion from Texas’ Denton Independent School District and an upsized deal from Utah’s Intermountain Power Agency. U.S. Treasuries were slightly firmer outside of five years and equities ended the session in the black. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 61%,

Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. hired Marc Livolsi, formerly of Citigroup, as managing director of public finance marketing. Livolsi, who worked at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. for 25 years until the bank cut his position in February along with two others in its municipal team, will focus on building relationships with public finance professionals as well

Environmentally friendly infrastructure got a big boost just before California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the budget on July 1 and then again last week through a grant-funding program. With the budget shortfall this year, lawmakers scrambled to tap the state’s cap-and-trade program and other non-general fund sources to sustain ongoing programs. California lawmakers added money

Municipals were mixed Monday ahead of a larger new-issue slate while U.S. Treasuries improved and equities were up near the close. Triple-A yields saw a mix of one to two basis point bumps and cuts, depending on the curve, while UST saw yields fall by one to 11 basis points with the strongest moves inside

New York State Common Retirement Fund’s investment return was negative 4.14% for the state’s fiscal year that ended March 31, said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The fund is valued at $248.5 billion. The fund’s returns reflect retirement and death benefits of $14.7 billion, which were paid during the fiscal year. For the prior fiscal year,

To run a municipality in 2023 means preparing for constant cyberattacks.  Cyberattacks have become “an everyday phenomenon” for municipalities, said Omid Rahmani, associate director of public finance at Fitch Ratings. “This problem is not going to get better. In the short term, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.” Moody’s Investors Service found

Despite wide expectations for declining revenues, big-ticket tax cuts were on the agenda in state legislatures across the Northeast during the most recent budget negotiation periods. With a slowdown in economic activity expected going into fiscal 2024 after a strong post-COVID rebound, almost every state in the region passed or is still negotiating tax cuts

The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau approved the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority transfer of $12.8 million to AES-Puerto Rico to help shore up the company, which on June 1 defaulted on municipal bonds.  The bureau voted 4-1 on Wednesday to release money in a PREPA escrow account to AES with the condition it is only

Chicago will deliver its 2024 budget forecast in mid-September after a series of public roundtable meetings this month that, along with a newly delivered transition report, will help shape Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget. Recommendations on pension funding fixes from a Johnson-appointed working group also could influence the budget as the panel readies initial proposals

Municipals saw small losses ahead of a larger new-issue calendar, while U.S. Treasuries were stronger up front and weaker out long after the jobs report came in lower than expected, as data continued to send the markets mixed signals on the economy’s health. Triple-A benchmarks rose up to three basis points, while USTs saw yields

Municipals cheapened across the yield curve Thursday, but outperformed U.S. Treasuries which sold off after better-than-anticipated payrolls numbers, leading the two- and 10-year to the highest levels since March. Equities ended down. Municipals could not ignore the large losses in USTs, though the July reinvestment dollars and lack of new-issue supply worked to stave off

The Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates a bit further to rein in an inflation rate that’s too high, monetary expert John Taylor said. “They’ve had a big adjustment over the last couple of years,” the Stanford University professor told a webinar hosted by the American Council for Capital Formation on Thursday, adding, “I

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as U.S. Treasuries were weaker after the release of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes showed more tightening is likely on the way. Equities were in the red to close the session. The secondary was uneven but triple-A yield curves were mostly steady, as municipals are wont to do

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson tapped state banking regulator Chasse Rehwinkel to fill the city comptroller’s position, a choice that completes his picks for the city’s top fiscal posts. The comptroller manages the collection or disbursement of city revenues and all funds required to be in the custody of the city treasurer.  The chief financial officer, budget director,

Illinois headed into the new fiscal year with fresh deposits to its rainy-day and pension stabilization funds, a low bill balance, and $1 billion in available general revenue funds — hitting several high marks on some fiscal metrics that had sunk during the state’s budget impasse six years ago. The state ended the year with

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, “is at risk of a severe fiscal crisis,” according to a U.S. Government Accounting Office report. The CNMI had $114 million of debt outstanding as of September 2020, much of it bond debt, according to its most recent audited statement. The government at that time

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy averted a government shutdown Friday, signing into law a record-setting $54.3 billion fiscal 2024 spending plan hours ahead of a July 1 budget deadline. The budget records an $8.3 billion surplus and features $5.4 billion of new spending in addition to major tax code changes and tax-relief provisions. For the

Municipals were little changed ahead of the Fourth of July, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended up. Triple-A yields were steady, while UST yields rose three to eight basis points. Municipal to UST ratios fell as a result. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 59%, the three-year at 61%, the five-year at

Beating the legally mandated July 1 deadline to produce a balanced budget, New York Mayor Eric Adams and City Council have agreed on a $107 billion spending plan for fiscal 2024. “The agreement we reached today comes in the midst of a budget cycle dominated by great challenges and unexpected crises, but I am proud

June municipal bond issuance dropped 9% from 2022 as uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy and market volatility continued, but the total was the highest month of the year. June’s total volume was $34.436 billion in 744 issues, down from $37.775 billion in 984 issues a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data, and lower than the