Bonds

Municipals were steady to firmer in spots Tuesday, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended down. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 59%, the three-year at 60%, the five-year at 61%, the 10-year at 64% and the 30-year at 89%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the two-year

Municipalities looking to tap into federal infrastructure funding need existing matching funds while also reckoning with the administration’s emphasis on equity, and this latter point emerged as a clear priority from the Department of Transportation officials during presentations at the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference Monday in Washington, D.C.  “Something that’s near and

Experts are confounded by Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s debtor-centric interpretation of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. The Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s latest proposed Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority plan of adjustment would give bondholders a payout as little as 0.21%, and a ruling Swain made last week could

Bancroft Capital has hired Dana Villanova as director of municipals, the firm announced on Monday. Villanova, who will be working remotely from Hawaii, will help expand Bancroft’s engagement with issuers, financial advisors and its underwriting partners, with a focus on the West Coast. She will also use her background in bond insurance and green bond verification to

Wisconsin’s Republican legislative majority delivered its latest rebuke to Gov. Tony Evers’ biennial spending plan with their rejection of the Democrat’s $3.8 billion capital plan. The State Building Commission — which includes Evers, four Republican members, two Democrats, and a citizen voting member — rejected all of Evers’ line items at its meeting Thursday in

Moody’s Investors Service raised the outlook on Guam to positive from stable on Thursday. The outlook is on the Ba1 rating of the territory’s general obligation, special tax rating, and the Ba2 rating on its certificates of participation rating, all of which were affirmed. The improved outlook stems from Guam’s improved financial position resulting from

New York officials are looking with caution as the fallout from the Signature and Silicon Valley Bank failures casts a pall over budget negotiations. Both the city and the state are working on their fiscal 2024 budgets. The state’s fiscal year begins April 1 while the city’s starts on July 1. Amid rising inflation and

Lawmakers in Maine hoping to avoid a government shutdown at the turn of the fiscal year are working to cleave Gov. Janet Mills’ $10.3 billion biennial budget proposal in two. The state Senate’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee announced on Thursday a plan to partition the governor’s proposal for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 into

Municipals finished out a nerve-wracking week on a strong note, with yields falling by as much as nine basis points on the short end while U.S. Treasuries strengthened and equities came under pressure. As holders of bank stocks headed for the exits and muni investors looked on nervously from the sidelines as the Federal Open

A Texas House committee ditched an appropriation to potentially pay off $3.52 billion of recently issued bonds from a natural gas securitization deal, but left open the possibility for the funding’s return. Thursday’s action by the House Appropriations Committee approving its version of a supplemental appropriations bill without the funding came the same day the

Municipals were slightly firmer in spots, while U.S. Treasuries extended their rally once more and equities ended up. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 65%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 69% and the 30-year at 93%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the

The judge in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy ruled bondholders had no lien on the authority’s revenues, which could result in bondholders recovering as little as 0.21% of their principal. The Puerto Rico Oversight Board has introduced a plan of adjustment where that would be the payout if the judge ruled the bondholders

Whether the not-for-profit hospital sector earns its exemptions from taxes and the related ability to issue tax-exempt debt takes center stage in a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. The foundation’s report values the benefits of tax-exempt status for hospitals at nearly $12 billion more than the amount of discounted and free care they provided in

South Carolina lawmakers are moving to remove the state’s elected comptroller from office after a $3.5 billion accounting blunder went unnoticed by his office for a decade. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom is facing removal by a legislative vote this month for “willfully neglecting his duties” aftera state investigation into his office concluded he was responsible

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders asked a magistrate to intervene on discovery issues but were rebuffed. Magistrate Judith Dein, who is handling discovery matters, denied the request because the Oversight Board said it was still considering bondholders’ discovery requests. She ordered the sides to continue to negotiate, with the bondholders filing a status report

Illinois plans to sell up to $2.5 billion of general obligation debt before the fiscal year closes June 30 in its first primary market outing to benefit from upgrades that put two of its ratings in single-A territory. The state plans to sell up to $1.5 billion of new money and is eyeing another up

The Virgin Islands Superior Court ruled the territory’s Senate has the power to alter the Water and Power Authority’s board of directors, a decision one municipal bond analyst called a credit positive. The court upheld a Senate bill requiring board members to have greater expertise in energy, technology, economics, and finance; reducing the number of

Bills seeking to restrict or expand municipal bond issuance and rein in debt practices are on the menu for Texas lawmakers during the legislative session that commenced in January and wraps up in late May.  Numerous bond-related measures are among a record 8,153 bills and joint resolutions introduced in the Republican-controlled legislature by a March

The takeover of the Houston Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on the basis of academic performance does not affect its AA-plus underlying rating, S&P Global Ratings analysts said Friday. The TEA said Wednesday the largest public school district in Texas will be run by a state-appointed board of managers and superintendent

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Federal Reserve shouldn’t be spooked into easing its campaign to contain inflation out of excessive concern about a credit crunch in the wake of the recent banking turmoil. “It would be very unfortunate if, out of solicitude for the banking system, the Fed were to slow down its