Bonds

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders, the bond trustee, and bond insurers asked for certification of their appeal on bondholder liens but there are signals the judge isn’t inclined to grant it. On Friday morning District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain not only rejected considering issues bondholders wanted treated separately, but she also set deadlines

March municipal bond issuance dropped 30% year-over-year, as issuers this month dealt with Silicon Valley Bank collapse-induced volatility in the U.S. Treasury market, rising interest rates and an uncertain outcome for Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Total volume for the month was $31.795 billion in 515 issues, down from $45.555 billion in 985 issues a

Idaho lawmakers resurrected and reworked a property tax relief bill that Gov. Brad Little vetoed earlier this week, saying the original legislation put a transportation bond sale in jeopardy. Little vetoed House Bill 292 because it re-ordered the priority of statutory claims on sales taxes, putting property tax relief ahead of the state’s Transportation Expansion

Michigan’s fiscal 2022 tax surge will result in a $650 million income tax cut, but it will remain in place only for 2023, state officials announced Wednesday. All signs pointed to an income tax cut when state finance officials and economic forecasters discussed the fiscal landscape at the annual February revenue estimating conference but Treasurer

Municipals were little changed throughout most of the curve in secondary trading Wednesday as the primary took focus with the sale of $1.2 billion of general obligation bonds from New York City in two deals. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities rallied. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 59%, the three-year at 59%, the five-year

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed proposed amendments with the Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at shortening the settlement cycle to one business day for broker-dealer transactions. The proposed amendments to Rule G-12 on uniform practices and G-15 on confirmation, clearance and settlement practices are being advanced in an effort to bring the rules

Municipals were steady to firmer in spots Tuesday, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended down. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 59%, the three-year at 60%, the five-year at 61%, the 10-year at 64% and the 30-year at 89%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the two-year

A bill to direct state investments away from financial services providers determined to be “discriminating” against the fossil fuel, firearm, or ammunition industries won final passage Monday in the Arkansas Legislature after concerns abated over the impact it could have on state retirement funds.  The measure, which now heads to Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders,

Experts are confounded by Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s debtor-centric interpretation of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. The Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s latest proposed Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority plan of adjustment would give bondholders a payout as little as 0.21%, and a ruling Swain made last week could

The municipal market is a safe haven with stronger fundamentals and higher quality than the corporate market, as well as buying opportunities, according to Jennifer Johnston, director of research in the municipal bond group at Franklin Templeton. “We have significantly lower default rates and the ratings of the muni indices are even stronger when compared

Wisconsin’s Republican legislative majority delivered its latest rebuke to Gov. Tony Evers’ biennial spending plan with their rejection of the Democrat’s $3.8 billion capital plan. The State Building Commission — which includes Evers, four Republican members, two Democrats, and a citizen voting member — rejected all of Evers’ line items at its meeting Thursday in

Moody’s Investors Service raised the outlook on Guam to positive from stable on Thursday. The outlook is on the Ba1 rating of the territory’s general obligation, special tax rating, and the Ba2 rating on its certificates of participation rating, all of which were affirmed. The improved outlook stems from Guam’s improved financial position resulting from

New York officials are looking with caution as the fallout from the Signature and Silicon Valley Bank failures casts a pall over budget negotiations. Both the city and the state are working on their fiscal 2024 budgets. The state’s fiscal year begins April 1 while the city’s starts on July 1. Amid rising inflation and

Lawmakers in Maine hoping to avoid a government shutdown at the turn of the fiscal year are working to cleave Gov. Janet Mills’ $10.3 billion biennial budget proposal in two. The state Senate’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee announced on Thursday a plan to partition the governor’s proposal for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 into

Municipals finished out a nerve-wracking week on a strong note, with yields falling by as much as nine basis points on the short end while U.S. Treasuries strengthened and equities came under pressure. As holders of bank stocks headed for the exits and muni investors looked on nervously from the sidelines as the Federal Open

A Texas House committee ditched an appropriation to potentially pay off $3.52 billion of recently issued bonds from a natural gas securitization deal, but left open the possibility for the funding’s return. Thursday’s action by the House Appropriations Committee approving its version of a supplemental appropriations bill without the funding came the same day the

Municipals were slightly firmer in spots, while U.S. Treasuries extended their rally once more and equities ended up. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 65%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 69% and the 30-year at 93%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the

A bill prohibiting state and local government contracts with large banks that “discriminate” against the firearm industry cleared the Republican-controlled Oklahoma House Wednesday as lawmakers try again to enact a ban. Ahead of the 74-19 vote, House Bill 2218 was amended to apply only to financial institutions with at least $50 billion in assets. For

Whether the not-for-profit hospital sector earns its exemptions from taxes and the related ability to issue tax-exempt debt takes center stage in a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. The foundation’s report values the benefits of tax-exempt status for hospitals at nearly $12 billion more than the amount of discounted and free care they provided in

The Washington state Senate’s capital construction budget would nix Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to issue $4 billion in housing bonds to spur construction and expedite efforts to lessen the state’s housing crisis. In December, Inslee released a housing proposal as part of his budget that included placing a referendum on the ballot for the bonds,