Bonds

Municipals improved again Thursday pushing the 10-year triple-A yield firmly below 3% while inflows into municipal bond mutual funds returned after 14 consecutive weeks of outflows. U.S. Treasuries saw losses and equities ended down after Federal Reserve officials tempered expectations of a slowdown in rate hikes. Triple-A yields fell by three to six basis points,

Considering a two-year roller-coaster ride of an economy, the fiscal health of major cities is eliciting feelings of cautious optimism by experts living in them. The sunbelt city of Atlanta remains a destination of inbound migration that has pushed the city population to about 500,00 with anther six million living in the metro region. Even

Municipals rallied across the yield curve Wednesday, outperforming U.S. Treasuries and seeing the greatest gains out long after stronger retail sales data signaled the Fed’s tightening is not yet over, pushing equities into the red. Retail sales increased 1.3% in October, slightly above the consensus forecast of 1.0% and a significant improvement from the flat

The request for a stay on implementation of the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority plan of adjustment was rejected by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Tuesday. The current and former HTA employees that sought the stay, will turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority fuel line lenders said they have a document to stop the Oversight Board from getting its proposed restructuring approved. The document, the board’s agreement with former PREPA fuel provider Vitol for its support of the restructuring, will make it very difficult for the judge to accept Vitol as a

The Wisconsin Counties Association is studying the feasibility of securitizing counties’ share of a $26 billion national settlement with pharmaceutical companies sued for their role in distributing deadly and addictive painkilling drugs. The counties group is awaiting a legal feasibility review before its members would decide if a tobacco-settlement style securitization makes financial sense for

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission heads into the market Tuesday with a $489 million new money deal with a new AAA rating attached to the third-lien paper. The commission will take competitive bids on the offering of third-lien state road bonds. PFM Financial Advisors LLC is advising. Gilmore & Bell PC and Bushyhead LLC

Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine declared victory Friday after a protracted battle for the position against Republican challenger, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore. Conine, a Democrat, and the incumbent, issued a statement after the Nevada Independent named him the winner. “Over the last four years, I’ve made a point to work across the aisle

Chester, Pennsylvania, has filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The petition was filed Thursday in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In its Chapter 9 filing, the city’s receiver listed estimated liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million with assets of between $10 million and $50 million. The city has

Chicago could win an upgrade into the single-A category if its new pension funding policy remains on track, S&P Global Ratings said in shifting the city’s general obligation outlook to positive from stable. S&P revised the outlook on the city’s BBB-plus general obligation rating Thursday, the same day Kroll Bond Rating Agency lifted the outlook

Most members of the House Municipal Finance Caucus appear to have won re-election in Tuesday’s tight midterm elections, while key advocates of state and local tax reform will be exiting the stage next year. As results continued to trickle in Friday, Republicans were on track to gain a narrow majority in the House and Democrats

Arizona’s water financing agency should think big when it comes to the state’s hunt for new water supplies amid a persistent drought. That was the message from board members of the relaunched Water Infrastructure Finance Authority at its inaugural meeting Thursday. State lawmakers passed legislation in June making WIFA, which dates back to 1989 and

Amarillo, Texas, will appeal a state judge’s ruling rejecting the city’s plan to issue $260 million of tax anticipation notes for a civic center project.  Mayor Ginger Nelson said the move was needed to clarify conflicts between the ruling and current Texas law, particularly when it comes to debt issuance. The city filed a notice

Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook on Miami-Dade County, Florida’s A-rated senior lien seaport revenue bonds issued for PortMiami to stable from negative. Thursday’s action affects $800.3 million of Series 2021A-1, 2021A-2, and 2021A-3 senior lien seaport revenue bonds the county issued on behalf of its seaport department. Fitch said the outlook revision “reflects the

Municipals rallied hard Thursday with the greatest gains seen out long after a lower-than-expected consumer price index report showed inflation is cooling, boosting all markets. U.S. Treasuries rallied out of the gates seeing yields close the session up to 31 basis points lower on the short end of the curve, while equities made massive gains,

North Carolina’s Local Government Commission gave the green light for a bond-funded independent living project to move forward at The Forest at Duke in Durham. At its Nov. 1 meeting, the LGC gave the go-ahead for the North Carolina Medical Care Commission to issue $105.1 million of tax-exempt revenue bonds to fund a five-story building

Democrats Erick Russell and James Diossa won open-seat campaigns for the state treasurer’s offices in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Russell will replace Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, who didn’t seek re-election, and Diossa will replace Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, who ran for and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Russell,

Voters in New York State approved the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Energy, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act bonds on Tuesday’s ballot. San Diego Unified School District voters approved $3.2 billion for facility and safety improvements. Austin ISD voters approved a $2.44 billion bond package including $2.316 billion for general purposes, $75.5 million for technology

Republicans appeared poised to take control of the House of Representatives but the Red Wave many expected heading into the midterm elections seemed to fade as results trickled in late Tuesday. While many House races won’t be called for a day or two, Republicans were projected to have gained at least six seats late Tuesday,

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said the U.S. central bank will “persist” in its efforts to bring high inflation under control. “Inflation should come down. But don’t expect its drop to be immediate or predictable,” he said during an event Monday hosted by his bank. “Our rate and balance sheet moves take

Municipals were little changed and lightly traded ahead of the midterm elections while U.S. Treasuries were weaker across the curve and equities improved. Triple-A yields were little changed to a basis point or two firmer 10 years and out while the U.S. Treasury two-year climbed to another high not seen since 2007. Muni to UST