Bonds

Louisiana has tapped a consortium led by Plenary Americas as the private sector partner to negotiate a 50-year public-private partnership to replace the aging Calcasieu River bridge on Interstate 10. Calcasieu Bridge Partners is a joint venture of Plenary Americas US Holdings, Inc., which holds a 40% equity stake, and Sacyr Infrastructure USA LLC, and

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said the greater-than-expected easing in inflation in June may be an indication that the U.S. economy can have a “soft landing,” returning to price stability without a damaging recession. “There is still a plausible story that inflation normalizes in short order and the economy dodges additional trauma,”

Municipals were weaker Wednesday as investors digested another larger new-issue slate, August redemption dollars, better-than expected economic data and the Fitch downgrade to the United States’ rating. U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly out long and equities sold off. The weakness in munis and UST resulted partly from the ADP Employment Report that showed 324,000 jobs were

Municipals were weaker in secondary trading to start August as several large deals took focus in the primary market. Munis slightly outperformed Treasury losses as the first round of August redemptions buoyed the market. Equities ended mixed. Triple-A yield curves were cut three to six basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a new center to help local transportation agencies spend infrastructure grants “on time, on task and on budget.” The Project Delivery Center of Excellence will guide grant recipients on the development and delivery of infrastructure projects with information on subjects like permits, contracts and bond issuances.  Ty Wright/Bloomberg

Municipal bonds issued for the American Dream mega mall that are backed by New Jersey economic development grants are poised to miss their third straight interest payment Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The payment due Aug. 1 won’t be made, said the person, who requested anonymity because the information hasn’t been

Municipals were lightly traded and mostly steady Monday while U.S. Treasuries were slightly firmer from Friday’s levels and equities closed in the black. With muni returns in positive territory to end the month and supply down 8% for the month and 16% for the year, the calendar flips to the final month of the muni

Environmental, social, and governance capital programs continue to flourish under increased scrutiny, said one presenter at a recent securities industry event. Climate change may be nothing new, said Trenton J. Allen, CEO of Sustainable Capital Advisors, but the “growing appetite” for suitably focused investments is, and issuers and investors alike can benefit from strategies to

Munis were weaker to close out the week, playing catch up to Thursday’s larger U.S. Treasury losses and preparing for a larger new-issue calendar led by billion-dollar issues from the New York Dormitory Authority and triple-A rated Minnesota, along with multiple large deals from Texas school districts. U.S. Treasuries were firmer Friday and equities rallied.

Congress adjourned for its long summer break Thursday still far apart on top-line 2024 spending levels with only a few weeks left to reconcile the difference. There are also looming deadlines to pass a new farm bill and reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. Congress faces a partial government shutdown if it hasn’t passed funding bills

Hospitals, already facing multiple challenges, are being stressed by a heat wave that has hit a large swath of the United States, according to a Moody’s Investors Service analyst. A heat dome that initially impacted California and Texas has spread across most of the southwest and is also affecting some Northwest states like Idaho. An

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has voted to move ahead with its controversial amendments to Rule G-14 on trade reporting, changing the trade reporting window to one minute from 15 minutes. That was approved during its quarterly board meeting that took place July 26-27, during which the board also approved a new $47 million budget

Issuers have had to become creative to derive interest cost savings in the years since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the tax-exempt advanced refunding option. A clear successor has yet to emerge, but rising interest rates, falling prices and fluctuating relative value prompted issuers to consider tender offers as a way

Munis yields rose Thursday, following and outperforming a U.S. Treasury sell-off on the heels of strong-than-expected economic data. Equities ended down. Thursday’s “economic data offers the latest evidence that the U.S. economy is weathering the fastest rate hikes in a generation without much damage to the major gear-works of the economy,” said Wells Fargo Securities

The ongoing challenges faced by publicly-owned mass transit authorities are looming large as federal funding for COVID relief will start drying up in in 2024. Possible solutions to careening over the financial cliffs include raising taxes, raising fares, tapping future casino revenue, and instituting controversial congestion traffic plans.  “Just last week we unveiled our financial

Munis were steady to weaker in spots Wednesday, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer after the Fed hiked rates 25 basis points and signaled more may come this year. Equities ended the session in the red. The Fed just “delivered a 25bps hike and by holding firm to their data dependent rhetoric and are trying to

The cost of protecting U.S. infrastructure against climate change is costly — but the cost of doing nothing is higher. That was the message today from Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and other witnesses who testified at a Senate Budget Committee hearing on the fiscal fallout from climate change. Louisiana is one of the states

Municipals were little changed in secondary trading Tuesday as the focus was on the primary where the state of Washington sold large general obligation bond deals ahead of the FOMC rates decision. Treasury yields rose a basis point or two throughout most of the curve and equities ended the session in the black. The two-year

A collection of muni market affinity groups are hosting their second annual summer mixer in August on the rooftop of Nixon Peabody’s downtown Los Angeles office. The event will be held Aug. 10 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Last summer’s inaugural event drew just north of 100 people, and they are hoping for a

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s executive board last week approved a $15.7 billion capital plan for 2023 to 2028. Approximately 60% of capital spending called for is “focused on improving the reliability and resiliency” of the existing infrastructure, MassDOT chief Gina Fiandaca wrote in an introduction to the plan, with an additional 23% going towards

Municipals were relatively steady throughout most of the curve Monday, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended the session up. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 58%, the three-year at 60%, the five-year at 61%, the 10-year at 65% and the 30-year at 88%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. read. ICE Data