Bonds

The rate of capture of sales and use taxes supporting the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. (COFINA) bonds has improved, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department said. The collection rate compared to the legally liable amount was 77% in fiscal 2022, a study by the Treasury’s Office of Economic and Financial Affairs showed. That compared

A California appellate court Thursday resurrected a lawsuit accusing prominent Wall Street banks of conspiring to manipulate the variable-rate debt market. The 1st District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling less than two days after hearing arguments in the case, which dates back nearly 10 years. It’s the latest turn in a series

Indianapolis Public Schools and at least 30 Michigan school district voters will decide Tuesday the fate of more than $2.5 billion worth of borrowing for infrastructure work, new schools, and safety-related projects. Indianapolis Public Schools seeks $410 million for projects throughout the district with 23 schools in line for improvements. The borrowing would help pay

Record state spending on California’s K-12 education will enable schools to retain stable credit quality despite a several-year drop in enrollment, Fitch Ratings said. The state’s schools experienced their sixth year of declining enrollment in fiscal 2023, dropping below 6 million students for the first time in 20 years, said Fitch’s report, released Thursday. The

Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson named a transition committee and subcommittee leadership Thursday that draws from members of the city’s business, activist, and governmental communities to help shape his administration’s strategies and priorities. Johnson charged the group with crafting a written report in the coming week to guide the administration that takes office May 15th. “We

Wisconsin’s latest tender invitation to $1.8 billion of tax-exempt and taxable general obligation bond holders drew enough interest that the state dropped a planned forward refunding from its $500 million refunding transaction that priced Thursday. The state launched the tender offer to various tax-exempt series from 2015 through 2021 and taxables from some 2019 to

Municipals were steady in secondary trading Wednesday as the competitive market saw the states of Washington and Delaware price large general obligation bond deals. U.S. Treasuries were weaker in most spots and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Monday was at 66%, the three-year at 68%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 68%

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders argued for certification of their appeal of a ruling against their lien on revenues, saying it would advance the bankruptcy case and allow an appeals court to address issues of public importance and novel legal questions. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors filed a separate reply in the United

Municipals were mixed Tuesday with most AAA scales showing large cuts on the front end and smaller bumps out long. U.S. Treasuries rallied hard, and equities sold off. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Monday was at 66%, the three-year at 69%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 69% and the 30-year at 92%, according to

Chicago-area public transit needs an operational makeover to build its case with the public and state lawmakers for new funding to help plug the funding gap when federal COVID-19 relief funds are exhausted.   That was a central takeaway from a panel discussion — “Solving the Transit Funding Riddle in Northeast Illinois and Beyond” —

Municipals were mixed to start the week as participants await a $7 billion-plus new-issue calendar, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were mixed. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Monday was at 62%, the three-year at 64%, the five-year at 65%, the 10-year at 67% and the 30-year at 91%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m.

Inflation, a banking crisis and the remnants of COVID-19 related issues make forecasts more difficult than usual. Heading into next week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, a division remains between those who expect this to provide the last of the quarter-point rate hikes and those who see another coming. Recession also splits economists, with some

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board and other parties are still trying to determine how District Court Judge Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s March ruling in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy will affect the bondholders’ payout, Puerto Rico Oversight Board Chair David Skeel said Friday. “The implications for the claim that the bondholders have is

Municipals were steady throughout most of the curve, though the front end did see smaller cuts on Friday to close out week that saw a significant correction for the asset class, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker, and equities ended down. It was too-rich ratios, too much outperformance to taxables and too much supply this week

A so-called “fix” for Chicago’s “Tier 2” firefighters to ensure benefits meet federal requirements carries a $350 million price tag. That’s what officials told a House committee that moved the bill forward over the city’s objections. And a police “fix” carries a more burdensome toll of at least $1 billion, sources said. “The city of

New York State is heading to market with a sale of green bonds aimed at refunding some debt previously issued for special projects. Loop Capital Markets and Barclays Capital as lead managers plan to price the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp.’s $150.555 million of Series 2023A tax-exempt state revolving funds revenue green bonds on

Fresh off two ratings upgrades this month, Nassau County, New York, is set to issue $269.54 million of general obligation bonds in two separate sales in the upcoming week. First, J.P. Morgan Securities will price the county’s $114.86 million of Series 2023B (Aa3/AA-minus/A-plus/NR) general improvement refunding GOs on Tuesday. On Thursday, the county will competitively

The Florida Legislature has passed a bill that bans the issuance of municipal bonds using environmental, social or governance standards. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature. House Bill 3 passed in the Senate by a 23 to 12 vote along party lines. It was approved last month by the House

Municipals were mixed Thursday, but the selloff appeared to subside, just as muni mutual funds saw the largest outflows year-to-date. U.S. Treasuries rallied and equities ended down. Outflows from municipal bond mutual funds intensified as Refinitiv Lipper reported $2.876 billion was pulled from them as of Wednesday after $255.794 million of outflows the week prior.

The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped $5.735 billion in the first quarter of 2023, a 32% decrease from the $8.430 billion of deals done over the same period in 2022, according to Refinitiv data. The industry par amount for the top two issuers was achieved in 260 deals in 2023 versus 419 deals in

Municipals continued to be hit hard on the front end of the curve in secondary trading as a $2 billion-plus deal from Illinois took focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, while equities ended mixed. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut 11 to 15 basis points, depending on the curve at one-year and nine to