Bonds

Harvey, Illinois, has resolved Securities and Exchange Commission concerns over its compliance with a 2014 consent judgment that settled fraud charges, removing one hurdle to a debt restructuring. The SEC forced the city back into court in October 2020 over concerns the city had not fully implemented an independent consultant’s recommendations aimed at cleaning up

Munis sold off, playing catch-up Thursday’s U.S. Treasury selloff, while taxables pared back some of those losses in a flight-to-quality bid Friday as equities were hit hard on U.S.-Russia tensions. Triple-A muni benchmark yields were cut by up to 10 basis points on the short end but the pain was felt across the curve with

Puerto Rico bondholders and the Puerto Rico Oversight Board asked the court to reject a teachers’ associations’ request for a stay on the Plan of Adjustment enactment, arguing granting it would potentially blow up the commonwealth’s exit from bankruptcy. The board and the PSA Creditors, which includes the biggest holders of Puerto Rico’s central government

U.S. Treasuries sold off hard Thursday, with the two-year rising 24 basis points to hit above 1.60% and the 10-year UST surpassing 2%, after inflation hit a four-decade high at 7.5%. Municipals followed suit, rising by five to eight basis points, but dramatically outperformed USTs. Equities took a beating, particularly tech stocks as markets digested

The Santee Cooper Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a $1.3 billion tender and exchange bond refunding, which is expected to produce gross savings of $378 million over the life of the bonds. The South Carolina Public Service Authority on Jan. 18 had offered to purchase or exchange $2.7 billion in outstanding bonds sold in

Municipal yields were little changed Wednesday and the primary saw some action while U.S. Treasuries were slightly better on the day and equities were in the black ahead of Thursday’s CPI numbers. Triple-A benchmark yields were little changed while UST yields were slightly better outside of two years. The municipal to UST ratio five-year was

Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain struck down a challenge to the Oversight Board’s privatization of Puerto Rico’s electrical system, granting the board’s motion to withdraw a complaint filed by the Puerto Rico Senate nearly two years ago. Puerto Rico Senate President José Luis Dalmau Santiago and the Puerto Rico Senate filed their original

Municipals were weaker Tuesday amid another spike in U.S. Treasury yields while equities rallied. The primary market was active, with Washington selling $743.5 million of general obligation bonds at similar spreads to its last deal in November. The South Carolina Public Service Authority priced $930 million of revenue refunding bonds while the state of Ohio

Claire G. Cohen, 87, one of the first women professionals in the municipal bond industry, whose career in public finance spanned over 49 years died at home on Feb. 3. “She was a pioneer in many ways, never shy to express an opinion which was always thoughtful and without rancor,” said Hy Grossman, who began

Municipals were mostly steady Monday in light trading, with some slight weakness on the long end, while U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities ended mixed. Triple-A benchmark yields rose a basis point or two in spots while UST were little moved from Friday’s levels. The municipal to UST ratio five-year was at 66%, 75%

Idaho received its second rating upgrade in four months when Moody’s Investors Service elevated the state’s issuer rating to Aaa from Aa1 on Thursday. The upgrade reflects the state’s continued positive economic and demographic outlook and efforts to increase reserves to protect against the state’s volatile economic and revenue structure, Moody’s analysts wrote. Also upgraded

Two Michigan-based systems — Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health — formally joined forces this week after clearing heightened anti-trust scrutiny ordered by the Biden administration across a swath of sectors last summer. The not-for-profit systems announced their intention to merge by signing a letter of intent in June 2021. One month later, the Biden administration launched

Parties filing appeals of the Puerto Rico Plan of Adjustment face an uphill battle as the bankruptcy judge who approved the plan would need to grant a stay of it for appeals to proceed, lawyers said. Four notices of appeal had been filed in the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico concerning the plan as

New Jersey has followed through on plans to use its budget surplus to trim its debt load. More than $3 billion in principal and interest on New Jersey bonds has been retired, the state Department of the Treasury said on Thursday. New Jersey allocated $3.7 billion in the state’s fiscal 2022 budget to cut outstanding

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said investors need to brace for the Federal Reserve to potentially raise interest rates at all seven remaining policy meetings this year and even for it to hike by more than a quarter point in one go. “Markets have to be prepared for a rate hike in every meeting

Municipals were slightly weaker, particularly on the long end, but the asset class outperformed a selloff in U.S. Treasuries after a stronger-than-expected jobs report. January’s payrolls surged 467,000, and December’s were revised up to 510,000 from 199,000, causing Treasury yields to spike. “The inflation battle for the Fed and their monetary policy will be a

Amid fresh controversy surrounding a December Federal Highway Administration memo, the U.S. Department of Transportation said the memo does not in fact restrict the use of infrastructure funds for new highway capacity projects as feared by some state transportation advocates. The controversy stems from a Dec. 16 FHWA memo that advised states to spend federal

Municipals were stronger on Thursday with yields falling another two to five basis points on triple-A yield curves and new-issues fared well while Refinitiv Lipper reported $2.9 billion of outflows, marking the largest negative flows in nearly two years. The last time outflows were above $2 billion was on April 8, 2020 when they hit

Illinois would pump up now near-empty rainy day fund, pay more of its bills down, bolster scheduled pension contributions, and provide one-time tax relief under budget plans Gov. J.B. Pritzker laid out Wednesday. The state expects an additional $2.2 billion of revenue, about 5% of general funds, in fiscal 2022 and another $2 billion in

WASHINGTON — A weekslong onslaught of Republican opposition to two of the Biden administration’s Federal Reserve nominees — Sarah Bloom Raskin and Lisa Cook — tees up a contentious confirmation hearing on Thursday. Saule Omarova, the White House’s pick for comptroller of the currency who ultimately withdrew, faced similar blowback in the fall. But Senate