Bonds

ESG is beset from every angle. Republicans want to cancel it. Business leaders are muffling their former enthusiasm. Some money managers have even scrubbed the three letters from their funds. To meet this fraught moment, brand executives who work with some of the largest US companies, including Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, have had

S&P Global Ratings lifted the University of Illinois back into the double-A category citing the flagship public university’s surpluses and healthier state government finances that reduce the threat of aid cuts. S&P last week raised the rating to AA-minus from A-plus. The upgrade impacts auxiliary facilities system revenue bonds and certifications of participation. The university

Municipals were weaker by a basis point or two Monday, while U.S. Treasuries saw larger losses across the curve and equities ended down following continued central bank assertions on raising rates. “U.S. stocks were unable to hold onto gains as recession worries run wild and as global bond yields surge higher after former Fed’s Dudley

Municipals ended the week little changed ahead of a paltry new-issue calendar as the market winds down for the year. U.S. Treasuries were mixed and equities ended the week in the red. Muni-UST ratios were little changed Friday. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 62%, the five-year at 67%, the 10-year at 71% and the

States have never spent more money, as general fund spending for all states topped $1.08 trillion for fiscal year 2022, an 18.3% increase over FY 2021 levels and the highest annual growth ever recorded by the National Association of State Budget Officers’ Fiscal Survey since its inception in 1979. That’s due to a number of

The clock is ticking on Congress waiving PAYGO for Build America Bonds, a budget bear trap that could delay promised subsidy payments totaling $14 billion to issuers. The dilemma has been a constant irritant to the muni market issuers who have based their budgets on promises of getting reimbursed by the federal government for bonds

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would give Puerto Rico voters a chance to vote for statehood or other options, but it is unlikely to make it through the Senate and become law this session. The U.S. House voted 233 to 191 in favor Thursday, with all Democrats and 16 Republicans

An Oklahoma legislator has once again filed a bill prohibiting government contracts with companies, including banks that underwrite municipal bonds, if they “discriminate” against the firearm industry. Republican State Sen. Casey Murdock authored a similar bill that fell short of passage in the 2022 legislative session. “The bill actually had wide margins of support in

The Capital Region Medical Center in Missouri will hold an investor call Monday as it works to finalize a forbearance from 2022 covenant defaults in an effort to buy time to stabilize its troubled financial condition. Capital Region reported non-payment related defaults in a Dec. 8th post on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA website.

In an attempt to further sever the state’s financial ties with businesses that have divested from the fossil fuel industry, Kentucky lawmakers are mulling new anti-ESG investment regulations. Attorney General David Cameron affirmed his support for expanding disclosure rules for environmental, social, and governance-related investments by major banks and businesses, and giving the state wider

Municipals were little changed as secondary trading slowed Thursday but the short-end remains under pressure and outflows returned to municipal bond mutual funds. U.S. Treasuries ended the session mixed and equities sold off hard. Muni-UST ratios were steady Thursday. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 61%, the five-year at 67%, the 10-year at 72% and

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new Regulation Best Execution that would establish a best execution standard, mandating that dealers in any transaction with a customer or a customer of another broker-dealer use reasonable diligence to determine the best market for the security and buy or sell so that the price is as

Short-end municipals saw continued pressure Wednesday, further inverting the muni curve, while Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments sent traders digesting the Fed’s next moves after the Federal Open Market Committee hiked rates 50 basis points. U.S. Treasuries ended the session slightly better after see-sawing post-FOMC and equities closed with losses. In his post-FOMC meeting

Municipals continued to see large cuts on the short end Tuesday as selling pressure there remained elevated but the rest of the curve improved following a better-than-expected consumer price index report that led to a rally in U.S. Treasuries. Equities ended the session in the black. The one-year triple-A muni ended the session with up

Walgreens and CVS agreed to a $10.7 billion settlement, the third large monetary agreement forced by a coalition of state attorneys general seeking redress from the opioid addiction crisis. The agreement resolves allegations that both national pharmacy chains contributed to the nation’s opioid addiction crisis by failing to oversee how medications were distributed. Under the

Although some advisors today may foresee themselves never recommending crypto investments, the last thing they should want is to look like “a deer in headlights” should a client ask about digital assets. So said Don Friedman, president of the professional group Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, on the first day of Financial Planning’s INVEST:

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to A1 from Aa3 $651 million of outstanding debt issued for Main Line Health System, a not-for-profit hospital operator managing four large facilities in the Philadelphia area. The rating agency said Thursday’s downgrade reflected “a multi-year trend of weak operating performance,” resulting in budget shortfalls analysts expected to continue into 2023.

Two influential members of the Senate Banking Committee introduced legislation Friday that would subject the Federal Reserve System to greater transparency requirements. The bill from Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., would classify the Fed’s 12 regional reserve banks as federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Records Act. 

New York state is expected to issue three downstate casino licenses in the first half of 2023, with the facilities operating two years after, bringing a financial boon to the state and the winners. Already, the state has seen more than $500 million of revenue through early November from online gambling, which made its debut

Municipals were weaker on the short end Friday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar made up largely of a Pennsylvania public-private partnership deal. U.S. Treasuries saw losses along the curve and equities ended the week in the red as markets digested more mixed economic data ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week

A central valley California not-for-profit hospital had $218 million of revenue bonds downgraded to junk by Moody’s Investors Service after a really bad third quarter. Kaweah Delta Health Care District had its revenue bond rating downgraded to Ba1 from A3; and the district’s overall rating has been placed under review for downgrade, Moody’s said. The