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,

South Dakota-based Sanford Health and Minnesota-based Fairview Health Services will take another shot at merging, nearly 10 years after a previous attempt ran up against a political roadblock. The two systems Tuesday signed a non-binding letter of intent to combine and create a new health system. The systems would each retain their own regional presence,

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

Voters in South Carolina mandated permanent contribution increases to the state’s reserve accounts by approving two ballot measures in last week’s election. Both, passed with just over 60% of the popular vote,amendthe state’s constitution.. The first ballot measure requires annual contributions to the General Reserve Fund to increase to 7% of the previous year’s revenue

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 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

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic Puerto Rico’s employment picture has improved much more than that of the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York official. From February 2020 to September of this year, Puerto Rico’s employment has increased by a “very strong” 6%, said Jaison Abel, head of

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

On the heels of her election, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul returns to Albany to face the stiffest resistance yet to her $8 billion plan to redevelop Manhattan’s Penn Station, as a recently filed lawsuit seeks to halt the project before it breaks ground. The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court late last month

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,

With its investment grade status restored, Chicago plans to ask Moody’s Investors Service to rate its upcoming general obligation deal, bringing an end to a schism that followed the rating agency’s decision to cut the city to junk. Moody’s raised the city’s GO and issuer rating to Baa3 with a stable outlook from Ba1 on

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,

Chicago’s City Council signed off on a $16.4 billion 2023 budget package and $1.85 billion of general obligation borrowing against a backdrop of debate over the city’s fiscal progress and efforts to combat crime and climate change. The council’s action Monday came after several hours of debate with the budget winning approval in a 32

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

Several Puerto Rico credit unions argued for the court to undo the Puerto Rico and Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico plans of adjustment’s treatment of the credit unions’ nearly $1 billion of bonds, but the judges seemed unlikely to do so. The credit unions presented oral arguments before a panel of three judges from

The looming severance of governance ties between Chicago Public Schools and the city adds to strains on the district’s “fragile” fiscal health as federal COVID-19 pandemic relief is being exhausted and structural costs are mounting. That’s the assessment of a review that delves into CPS finances and how Chicago and other city-related entities prop up

St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia will borrow $200 million in the municipal market as it implements a new operational and strategic vision sped up by this year’s merger with the nearby University of the Sciences. The tax-exempt bonds will price through conduit issuer Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development next week, according to an online slide

Failure of the U.S. Congress to raise the rum cover rate has a Virgin Islands senator concerned about its finances and its retirement fund. The Virgin Islands government refinanced matching fund bonds in March, planning to use some of the savings to prop up the faltering retirement system, which would have otherwise run out of

Municipals were little changed Friday as the market shifts its focus to next week’s midterm elections and a larger new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries were weaker out long and equities ended up as markets digested a better-than-expected October jobs report that may validate the Fed’s more hawkish tone on rate hikes this week. Muni to UST

A Rhode Island charter school plans to upgrade and expand with proceeds from a $12.7 million Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation bond sale that closed Oct. 26. Proceeds from the sale are destined for Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy, a private charter school based in Cumberland seeking capital to purchase and renovate a

The Internal Revenue Service’s Tax Exempt, Government Entities office is making clear there will be a beefier IRS presence in the coming year, which may be both a boon and a hindrance to issuers and their attorneys. The TE/GE 2023 Program Letter was recently released online Nov. 4 and lists the agency’s priorities for the

Municipals were weaker in secondary trading Thursday as a $1 billion-plus deal from the City and County of Denver took focus in the primary and mutual fund outflows grew by another $2.4 billion. U.S. Treasury yields rose, with the two-year seeing the greatest losses, and equities ended in the red as markets continue to digest

A report co-produced by the National League of Cities and The Public Finance Initiative expected to be issued Nov. 17 will address if and how bond issuers can help correct racial injustice. The report, work on which was announced in January, was funded by a $4 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  The

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board said it has lined up an impaired class to support a potential Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority restructuring deal, as legally required, but some were skeptical. One impaired class must vote for a PREPA plan of adjustment under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act for U.S. District