Bonds

Municipals were little changed in quiet trading with few prints to direct benchmark yields in any direction while the pendulum swung to risk-on with equities seeing large gains and U.S. Treasuries slumping back to losses. Triple-A benchmarks were left unchanged, and ratios fell. The five-year was at 48%, 69% in 10 and 78% in 30,

Transcription below: Mike Scarchilli: (00:00)Hi, this is Mike Scarchilli editor in chief of the Bond Buyer. This month, we’re doing something a bit different. We have a new podcast, the future of infrastructure. It’s a series of deep dives into us, infrastructure opportunities, investments, and impact for our first installment. I’m pleased to welcome investigative

Municipals were very lightly traded and little changed Monday, starting off the final two holiday-shortened weeks of 2021 with paltry supply and lightly staffed desks. The U.S. Treasury curve steepened with the long end weaker and equities sold off on continued COVID-19 concerns. The entire muni AAA curve has been stable for two weeks and

The Miami-Dade County Seaport Department won The Bond Buyer’s 20th annual Deal of the Year award for PortMiami’s $1.24 billion seaport revenue refunding bonds. PortMiami is the largest cruise port in the world and a large containerized cargo port. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, PortMiami cruise operations were suspended for nearly 16 months.

Municipals held steady Thursday, keeping to a theme that the market remains unlikely to take movements in U.S. Treasuries and equities into account for the asset class, as issuance fades and year-end approaches. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed while Treasuries improved and equities saw losses, led by tech stocks. Ratios were slightly higher with the

Municipals were lightly traded and ignored moves to higher yields in U.S. Treasuries Wednesday while equities rallied after the Federal Open Market Committee doubled the speed of its taper and projected three rate hikes in 2022. “It would seem that today’s decision was a first move by the Fed to restore its credibility as an

Well before the pandemic drove online adoption, the consumer shift toward a digital, personalized banking experience was on an upward trend. For financial institutions looking to capture the millennial and Gen Z demographic, it’s increasingly important to rethink card member acquisition approaches and prioritize automated, hyper-personalized programs. In this Arizent Leaders forum interview with American

Eight states including Illinois and New York with unemployment trust loans owed to the federal government called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to reinstate an expired waiver on interest to buy more time to resolve the debts. The interest waiver expired Sept. 6 and states with remaining balances are now paying 2.27% interest on what’s

It was Groundhog Day for municipals as triple-A benchmark yields held steady on Tuesday while Treasuries were weaker and equities sold off. Triple-A yield curves were unchanged on the day and mostly have not budged but a basis point in spots since the end of November. Most generic benchmark curves have remained static all month

Judge Laura Taylor Swain will decide whether the Puerto Rico local government has the right to advocate pension positions to the bankruptcy court. The Oversight Board’s proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law for the debt deal was challenged by Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority. The board the claimed the FAFAA

Munis started off quiet this week ahead of some big deals on tap, with new issuance totaling nearly $8 billion. Triple-A yield curves were little changed on the day while U.S. Treasuries were stronger. Ratios were slightly higher with the five-year muni-to-UST ratio at 49% in five years, 72% in 10 and 82% in 30,

The U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority sold $35 million of bond anticipation notes at a high yield of 7% for tax-exempt notes and 9% for taxable notes. WAPA closed the deal the week of Nov. 29. High-yield investment giant Nuveen bought the $34.5 million of tax-exempt BANs and $500,000 of taxable BANs via

Quincy, Massachusetts, is planning a $475 million pension obligation bond sale for Tuesday that is projected to fully fund its retirement system. City officials say they are getting out front of a state directive for its municipalities to reach full pension funding by 2037 and borrowing while interest rates are still low. Ramirez & Co.

Amid rising prices, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, governments are increasingly eying so-called progressive development agreements, or PDAs, as a way to minimize uncertainties as they embark on complex infrastructure projects. The move can reduce risks and costs and deliver a project faster, said Moody’s Investors Service analyst John Medina. “Construction costs are very

Chicago wrapped up the pricing on $1.45 billion of refinancing bonds Thursday after structural tweaks and a $1 billion tender and exchange allowed the city to scale back on the deal’s size and still meet a $250 million savings target. A look at the 10-year in the tax-exempt pieces showed spreads narrowed sharply from the

Municipal bonds were steady for the eighth straight session Friday as U.S. Treasuries were slightly better and stocks rose after Consumer Price Index data came as expected, though the highest since 1982. “U.S. stocks rallied after the latest inflation report did not come in as hot as many were expecting. Wall Street did not see

Turmoil at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, including a former general manager’s guilty plea to felony bribery, should not affect its Kroll Bond Rating Agency ratings. LADWP holds Kroll’s AA-plus rating on its water system revenue bonds and AA on its power system revenue bonds. The outlook on both ratings is stable.

Brian Mayhew stepped into his job before the turn of this century, taking on fiscal responsibility for a set of bridges that urgently needed upgrades to protect them against California’s earthquakes. More than two decades and many billions of dollars in debt later, he will retire as chief financial officer of the San Francisco Bay

Municipal yields held steady for the seventh session in a row in light trading Thursday as the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York’s $2.5 billion of competitive loans were the focus while U.S. Treasuries made gains and equities were mixed on heightened Omicron concerns. Triple-A yield curves were little changed on the day

Despite issuers’ hopes, a compromise defense bill passed by the House Tuesday night failed to include a provision allowing for expanded use of pandemic relief funds. The provision, which the Senate passed in October as standalone legislation, likely won’t be taken up this year, though some supporters continue to hold out hope. The legislation would

Secondary trading saw an uptick and some pressures emerged on munis, but benchmark yield curves were little changed to weaker by a basis point in spots, again outperforming taxables. U.S. Treasuries slid further with the largest rise in yields on the long bond, and equities made gains after a mixed open. ICE Data Services and

For the first time in North Carolina history, an economically unstable municipality has been dissolved. The Local Government Commission Tuesday afternoon unanimously voted to dissolve the Town of East Laurinburg as an incorporated entity. It marked the first time the LGC has used the powers it was recently granted by state lawmakers. In November the

Municipal secondary trading was light and triple-A benchmark yields left unchanged as the large primary diverted attention while U.S. Treasuries were weaker again and equities rallied. Trading was down 18% from Monday, which was already a light day at $5.6 billion par traded, as new issues were the focus and provided some direction. The day’s

Chicago heads into the market this week with an upsized $2.2 billion refinancing under its general obligation and Sales Tax Securitization Corp. credits after finalizing the results of a tender and exchange offer. “It’s roundly about $1 billion more for the results of the tender,” Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett’s office said in

Another reversal for U.S. Treasuries and equities while municipals held steady on Monday ahead of one of the largest new-issue weeks of the year at $17 billion. U.S. Treasuries erased most of Friday’s gains and equities rallied on easing concerns over Omicron. Triple-A benchmark yields were little changed to softer in spots. This led to

The federal government is seeking feedback on the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and one of the act’s most high-profile sections, the electric vehicle charging infrastructure program. The pair of Requests for Information, published this week, mark the first step toward developing guidance for the $1.1 trillion package. The act features dozens of new

Eric Adams has about a month before his Jan. 1 swearing in as New York mayor to prepare for his first budget presentation. While he inherits a city with roughly $15 billion in multiple rounds of emergency federal funding, better-than-expected revenue and diminished outyear budget gaps, a raft of fiscal variables will confront him at

Mark Zehner has retired from his position as deputy chief of the Office of Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Unit at the Securities and Exchange Commission after almost 25 years with the regulator, passing the torch to Rebecca Olsen, former director of the office of municipal securities. Zehner’s last day with the Commission was Nov.

The Bay Area Toll Authority’s plans to price $1.3 billion in toll bridge revenue bonds next week are expected to see robust demand, even as the seven-bridge system sees a softer pandemic recovery than other tollway credits in the U.S. Lead managers BofA Securities, Citi and JP Morgan, along with co-manager Goldman Sachs & Co.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Ernesto A. Lanza as the new acting director for the Office of Municipal Securities. The announcement of the appointment came after Rebecca Olsen’s move from director to deputy chief became public following the retirement of longtime regulator and former deputy chief Mark Zehner. Bloomberg News “I look forward