Bonds

When Fitch Ratings this month downgraded Marshfield Clinic Health System, a nonprofit group of 11 hospitals based in central Wisconsin, to BBB from BBB-plus, it cited operating losses due in part to wage pressures from reliance on contract nurses and temporary physicians.  The downgrade applied both to Marshfield’s issuer rating and the revenue bonds issued

Municipals were slightly firmer Tuesday as new-issues from the New York Thruway Authority and the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency’s Children’s Hospital were well-received. U.S. Treasuries were mixed as were equities ahead of the Fed rates decision Wednesday. Triple-A yields were bumped one to four basis points, depending on the curve, while UST saw yields fall

An elite private school catering to Los Angeles’ wealthiest residents is tapping the municipal bond market as it looks to expand its campus and add to its academic offerings.  Curtis School is seeking to raise $24.3 million in revenue bonds through the California Enterprise Development Authority in a sale pricing Wednesday. The exclusive elementary school

Municipals were little changed to start the week, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were up late in the trading session. The muni market enters 2024 with “stable credit fundamentals, supportive demand/supply dynamics, and low [muni-UST] ratios and compressed credit spreads,” said Adam Stern, co-head of research at Breckinridge. On the technical front, he

Muni market participants and analysts expect certain sectors and subsectors to experience credit weakness and the U.S. presidential elections and federal policy potentially having major impacts on the municipal market this year. The Bond Buyer released survey results in a report titled, “After two stormy years, munis face still more uncertainty,” which detailed predictions and

After two consecutive years of investors pulling money from muni mutual funds, January has gotten off to a better start as the market has seen the return on inflows.  “The driver of the improvement in net fund flows is not necessarily new buyers coming into the market; it’s the conclusion of tax loss swap selling

Municipals were lightly traded and little changed Friday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar amid the Federal Open Market Committee meeting while U.S. Treasuries were weaker. Equities were mixed to close the session. Rates have continued creeping higher and muni yields have been following, as the “positive effect of the year-end technicals has finally started

The list of investment banks no longer eligible to underwrite municipal bonds in Texas due to their lack of compliance with state laws aimed at protecting the fossil fuel and firearm industries grew on Friday with the addition of Barclays.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced that “until further notice, we will not approve

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has approved amendments to Rule G-27 on dealer supervision that are designed to help dealers better adapt to changes brought on by remote work. That was approved during the MSRB’s quarterly board meeting, where the board welcomed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler in attendance for his yearly visit,

Market participants are upbeat with predictions about an economy showing few signs of recession, a record-breaking stock market and a Federal Reserve that is expected to start ratcheting down interest rates.  Fresh economic data showing gross domestic product growing by an annual rate of 3.3% has bond issuers and ratings agency forecasters feeling bullish about

Accounting errors are a key factor driving Alaska’s Juneau School District into a shortfall amounting to more than 10% of its operating budget. But other underlying causes of the deficit are ones faced by other school districts in the state. Flat state funding and the end of pandemic-era federal relief funds combined with an aging

Municipals saw a more constructive secondary trading session Thursday and mutual funds reported the third consecutive week of inflows while U.S. Treasuries improved. Stocks continued to break records after another report of hotter economic data, which is leading more participants to pare back rate cut timing expectations. LSEG Lipper reported Thursday that investors added $210.6

Mass transit investors are looking past the well-publicized “fiscal cliff” facing public agencies and taking comfort in the more stable revenue streams like sales taxes that back their bonds. “They’re all facing lower ridership and diminishing federal pandemic relief,” said Sheila May, director of municipal bond research at Boston-based GW&K Investment Management. “That narrative is

Municipals were little changed Wednesday amid another busy primary session as U.S. Treasury yields rose throughout most of the curve and equities ended up. Despite municipal performance being in the red to start to 2023, municipal mutual funds continue to see inflows. The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported more inflows into municipal bond mutual funds

New Jersey has retired almost $500 million of outstanding debt for about $160 million in savings, joining other issuers in using defeasance as a cost-saving tool and to improve their credit. Gov. Phil Murphy touted the state’s debt defeasement during an address last week at a meeting of the Municipal Analysts Group of New York.

Municipals were weaker in spots amid an active primary market that saw a billion-dollar-plus retail order from the Regents of the University of California price and Washington sell just shy of $1 billion general obligation bonds in the competitive market. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholder parties defended their liens on the authority’s revenues in recent court filings, arguing the original trust agreement lays out their claims and a statement from PREPA’s own chief financial officer confirms them. Assured Guaranty, PREPA Ad Hoc Group, bond trustee U.S. Bank NA, and Syncora Guarantee and GoldenTree Asset

Municipals were mixed Monday ahead of a heavy new-issue slate while U.S. Treasuries were better and equities saw smaller gains after last week’s record-breaking moves. Munis continue to struggle in 2024, with the asset class seeing negative returns of 1.01% so far this year. This is a turnaround “from the last quarter of 2023 in

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded New York University Langone Hospitals’ $3.2 billion of outstanding revenue bonds to A1 from A2 and revised the outlook to stable from positive. “The upgrade reflects an expected continuation of very strong and consistent operating performance and revenue growth relative to peers, driven by NYULH’s very strong market position and highly

Municipal bonds were slightly weaker Friday ahead of an $8.4 billion new-issue calendar and the last full week of January. U.S. Treasuries were mixed on the day while equities saw another session of gains as markets continue to digest the unlikelihood of any Federal Reserve rate cuts in the first quarter. Triple-A yields rose two

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority staff came under fire from their own auditor general for misleading communications and a “breach of transparency” regarding cost overruns and delays on the $12.2 billion San Jose extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. The project would extend BART, a commuter railway, through downtown San Jose into Santa