Bonds

Puerto Rico fiscal year 2020 general fund revenues came in 10.7% short of a May 9, 2019, projection but 3.1% ahead of a May 27, 2020, projection. The Puerto Rico Treasury reported the results Wednesday. While the January earthquakes hurt collections, the governor’s order to close much of the economy from March to the present

Minnesota’s top rating from S&P Global Ratings is at risk over its COVID-19 budget hole and how the state might close the potential three-year, $7 billion gap. S&P moved the outlook on the state’s AAA rating to negative from stable this week in a report ahead of a $1.2 billion new money and refunding general

Lawyers for a bond trustee and a Missouri county will square off Wednesday before an appellate court over the legal enforceability of the county’s pledge to cover shortfalls on a $32 million industrial development bond issue. Platte County leaders decided in 2018 not to cover a $765,000 shortfall in tax revenues generated in the Zona

July saw a total of $42.61 billion in municipal bonds sold, a staggering 41.3% higher than July 2019’s total, as issuers continue to flood the market with deals, specifically taxable muni transactions. Taxable bond volume increased 518.3% month-over-month to $16.13 billion from $2.61 billion in July of 2019. Year-to-date, taxable volume sits at $68.98 billion.

Municipal bond buyers will see a varied slate of new deals heading their way, with taxable deals leading the slate. The largest issue on the calendar is a $900 million taxable general obligation bond deal from the state of Hawaii. Municipals continued to strengthen, with yields steady to down as much as two basis points

Fitch Ratings Friday revised the outlook to negative on the United States’ sovereign rating. The rating agency affirmed its AAA rating on the United States’ long-term foreign-currency and local-currency issuer default ratings while dropping the outlook from stable. Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on the United States’ AAA rating to negative from stable. Fitch said

The California Supreme Court failed to take up the California Rule in its most recent decision in a pension case, instead issuing a narrow ruling on the case’s merits. The court did affirm the state’s right to eliminate pension spiking, a reform outlined in the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013, a law championed

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell said the economy seems to be slowing anew as many states see coronavirus cases rising, and the Fed will do what it needs to do and doesn’t expect to raise rates anytime soon. The post-meeting statement from the Federal Open Market Committee said the path of the economy will

Municipal yields were steady to stronger on the long end Tuesday as Colorado sold notes and Seattle offered bonds, but those long-dated, smaller-coupon bonds are enticing investors. A Dallas, Texas, ISD bond, 4s of 2049, traded in large blocks at 1.72%, just about 30 basis points lower than AAA benchmark scales. A four-handle at 1.72%.

Maine’s Susan Collins became the second Republican senator to announce opposition to President Donald Trump’s nomination of economist Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. “Ms. Shelton has openly called for the Federal Reserve to be less independent of the political branches, and has even questioned the need for a central bank,” Collins

“No matter what state, no matter what municipality you are in, there’s going to be some effect from all this.”said Johnny Hutchinson, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs in Houston and Chair of NABL’s Tax Law Committee. State and local governments would be better able to manage their cash flow during the financial stress of

With COVID-19 cases surging in parts of the country, and no end in sight, it is almost certain there will be another round of stimulus, with many speculating what it will look like. Lee Ferridge, head of macro strategy for State Street Global Markets, and Noel Dixon, global macro strategist for State Street, believe it

Municipal yields held steady as the market awaits large Texas and California deals. The new-issue calendar features billion dollar deals from the Southwest and West regions of the country. The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas’ (A1/A/A+/AA) are coming to market for the second week in a row, this time with a taxable sale.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said he will vote against Judy Shelton, one of two Trump administration nominees to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. ”I’m not going to be endorsing,” Romney told reporters Thursday. “I will be voting against it.” Shelton, an informal adviser to President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016, is nominated

Ohio legislation that provided a ratepayer bailout for two nuclear power plants owned by then-bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions is at the center of a $60 million pay-to-play scheme that led to the arrest of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on federal corruption charges this week. The legislation, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in July 2019, bolstered

Municipals were steady Tuesday, with yields on the AAA muni scales a bit stronger on shorther maturities as traders and other market participants monitor the ongoing virus-related uncertainties. Muni bonds were little changed on Tuesday with a small uptick in volume, ICE Data Services said, adding that “taxable yields are about two basis points lower

A debt restructuring proposal pitched by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran to combat a massive deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic faces stiff opposition from the Republican-controlled legislature. Curran requires legislative approval for the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the county’s longtime fiscal control board, to refinance existing debt over the next two years to achieve

Municipal bond buyers, while not seeing the amount of new issuance they might want or need, will have a wide variety of new deals from which to choose — from green and social bonds to some seldom-seen names and structures. Taxable bonds one again are featured prominently on the supply slate. IHS Ipreo estimates volume

Despite recent talk about a financial crisis that may force the shutdown of the commuter train line linking San Francisco and San Jose, S&P Global Ratings said that Caltrain’s parent entity has the money to pay farebox-backed debt service at least in the short term. Earlier this week the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco

The changes are “disappointing,” said Charles Samuels of Mintz Levin, counsel to the National Association of Health & Educational Facilities Finance Authorities.Brian Tumulty, The Bond Buyer Nonprofits groups said Friday that several modifications to the Main Street Lending Program announced by the Federal Reserve may not be enough to provide access to credit for most

Various reads of the economy offered on Thursday suggested some economic improvement, although mostly still down from pre-pandemic levels, and on shaky ground as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in many states, threatening some pullback on reopenings. Initial jobless claims continued their trend of small decreases, dipping to a seasonally adjusted 1.300

Florida is ready to use the municipal bond market to achieve its goal of boosting the private space-launch industry. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation in late June enabling Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency, to bypass approval from the governor and cabinet to issue revenue bonds for private companies pursuing capital projects. The

The State University of New York will sell a $328.5 million refinancing deal to create near-term financial flexibility to offset expected declines in student housing revenue stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. SUNY is scheduled to sell the federally taxable dormitory facilities revenue bonds Tuesday through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. Proceeds

280 CapMarkets, a fixed-income technology company providing best execution trading support and price transparency to advisors, institutions and issuers, has rolled out straight-through processing (STP) capabilities, which accelerate and automate the processing of client transactions. Dave Rudd, president, 280 CapMarkets The firm’s goal is to help clients manage their own trading allocations and incorporate BondNav

As the summer reinvestment season heats up, buyers will see a large slate of new sales in the upcoming week, led by issuers in New York, Texas, Maryland and Virginia, which are dominated by taxable offerings. There will be nearly $14 billion of new issues in the height of the summer as issuers clamour for

WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a vote to advance a controversial Federal Reserve Board nominee to the full Senate floor. The committee on July 21 will vote on the nomination of Judy Shelton, who has been an economic adviser to President Trump and whose views have prompted some concerns from both Democrats

Municipal bond buyers saw a last wave of new supply flow into the market on Thursday. For the ninth week in a row, investors put cash into municipal bond funds as Refinitiv Lipper reported $1.02 billion inflow into the funds in the week ended July 8. Munis remained stronger in light trading activity as buyers

Jim Colby, senior municipal strategist and author of the Muni Nation blog at Van Eck, talks about what’s happened in the municipal bond market since March 20. He looks at the big picture after COVID-19 and drills down into municipal bond funds and ETFs. Chip Barnett hosts this remote podcast.

Municipal market players saw a bevy of notes and bonds price into a strong environment where issuers took advantage of low rates and buyers with reinvestment cash snapped up the new deals. The post-holiday climate in the municipal market reflected strength as yields fell slightly amid an ongoing hearty appetite for new paper. “For the

Economic activity in parts of the U.S. is showing signs of leveling off amid a resurgence in coronavirus cases, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic. “There are a couple of things that we are seeing and some of them are troubling and might suggest that the trajectory of this recovery is