Bonds

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole Friday removed any uncertainty of a rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting, pushing U.S. Treasury yields lower on the short end, with municipals following suit, while stocks rallied on the news. “Powell has rung the bell for the start of the cutting cycle,” said Seema

The end is near for a 52-year public-private partnership that built a managed lanes toll road project in the Houston area, with the Texas Department of Transportation announcing Friday the state intends to take over the project’s operation in October. The move came after financing for the P3 termination was cleared Thursday by the Texas

The Warren County Board of Education in Kentucky approved issuance of $87 million in general obligation bonds last week. These will be among the first GO bonds issued by a Kentucky school district since the state government passed a law allowing them to sell GOs in April, to give school districts a method to address

Municipals were little changed Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended down. This year’s summer technical picture has been stronger than 2023, said AllianceBernstein strategists. Total returns for June through August last year were –0.04%, with August wiping out June and July gains as UST yields “jumped” and muni yields moved higher, they

Although charter school bonds seem to naturally lend themselves to a social label, there are inherent risks to taking that step. “One of the biggest questions that often come up is, what are the qualification requirements of being a social bond?” said Ryan Callender, partner, Squire Patton Boggs. “Unfortunately, there’s really no one answer to

Municipals were mixed in secondary trading, as $1.8 billion of GOs from New York City came to market in two series, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended up. Several Federal Open Market Committee members saw a case to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in July, according to minutes of the July

Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman.Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg Federal Reserve Board Gov. Michelle Bowman said Tuesday she is not quite ready to sign off on an interest rate cut at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting. In a speech delivered to the Alaska Bankers Association, Bowman said price growth continues to be “uncomfortably” high, adding that

Municipals were firmer Tuesday as several of the week’s $12 billion calendar began pricing, led by New York City’s $1.5 billion being offered to retail investors, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities saw losses on the day. Triple-A yields fell by two to eight basis points depending on the curve, with the best performance

Constructive secondary trading and a firmer tone were evident Monday as munis took cues from calmer markets overall. Triple-A yield curves saw small improvement, particularly on the short end, with bumps of one to two basis points, while Treasuries were better out longer. With two weeks of market swings in the rearview, and some further

Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing housing policy beyond Low Income Housing Credit reform in her bid for the White House.  “My administration will provide first time home buyers with $25,000 to help with the down payment on a new home,” she said during a stump speech in Raleigh, N.C., last week.   “We will take

Last month, California became the first state to win funds from the Department of Energy’s prominent program to create a series of regional hydrogen hubs to kickstart a new national energy economy. The California Hydrogen Hub received an initial $30 million to begin planning and design phase and will eventually receive up to $1.2 billion

Missouri’s Kansas City Public Schools is looking to take its modernization plan to voters and seek approval for a $474 million general obligation bond measure next April.  The district plans to devote $424 million of the bond proceeds to facilities upgrades for KCPS schools and $50 million to participating charter schools, according to Shain Bergan,

Insurance fraud charges against Austin Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Eduardo Ramos that were not related to his job were dropped by law enforcement in Texas, the school superintendent announced Thursday.  Ramos, who joined the district as CFO in August 2021, resigned eight days before his July 31 arrest after which he was placed

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday called a special legislative session for Aug. 26 on further property tax cuts to circumvent proposed ballot initiatives that could negatively impact public financing and education and local government funding in the state. The Democratic governor said “the cost of inaction is too high” and pledged he won’t sign into

Municipals were slightly better on the short end Friday, reversing some of Thursday’s losses, while U.S. Treasuries made small gains across the curve and equities were up near the close. Triple-A yields closed out the week on better footing by one to three basis points, albeit in light secondary trading, ahead of a much larger

The letters are flying in the partisan debate over environmental, social and governance issues. A group of 20 state attorneys general led by Florida have slammed the U.S. Treasury Department’s recent warning against some state banking laws that the department said could undermine national security. In the Aug. 1 letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen,

Municipals felt the pressure of a U.S. Treasury market selloff, but outperformed their taxable counterparts, after better economic data sent investors flocking to equities in a risk-on trade. Triple-A yields rose two to four basis points, depending on the yield curve, while UST saw losses of up to 15 basis points on the short end,

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority was upgraded to AA-plus from AA by Fitch Ratings Wednesday. The ratings affect MARTA’s sales tax revenue bonds rated by Fitch and its issuer default rating and carry a stable outlook. As of March 25, the authority had $2.02 billion in sales tax revenue bonds outstanding, according to Kroll

Municipal bonds improved Wednesday as attention turned to the primary market with Chicago coming off the sidelines to price its delayed general obligation bond deal along with deals from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the Las Vegas Valley Water Department. U.S. Treasuries and equities closed the session mixed following

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Morgan Stanley $24,000 for failing to disclose mark-ups and mark-downs on 19,000 municipal securities transactions, part of a $400,000 total penalty the latest in a string of recent actions FINRA has taken to prosecute mark-up disclosure failures. Morgan Stanley, which neither admitted nor denied FINRA’s findings, also failed