Bonds

A shift in the municipal bond buyer base away from mutual funds might mean an uptick in borrowing costs for states and local governments and a more credit-focused investment strategy. Massive mutual fund outflows this year of around $100 billion means issuers have “lost their prime funding mechanism,” said Tom Doe, president and managing partner

Florida’s unemployment rate fell to a near record low in September, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department and the state Department of Economic Opportunity. Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.5% from 2.7% in the previous month and is now the second lowest in the state’s history and the lowest since October

In May, Princeton University, a non-profit with access to the tax-exempt debt markets, chose to issue $300 million of taxable debt with a corporate CUSIP side-by-side with a traditional $300 million tax-exempt deal. That’s because the taxable corporate CUSIP bonds allowed it more flexibility with proceeds than tax-exempts do, a university official said. “The university

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said policymakers should start planning for a reduction in the size of interest-rate increases, though it’s not yet time to “step down” from large hikes. “It should at least be something we’re considering at this point, but the data haven’t been cooperating,” Daly said Friday in

The operator of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s South Terminal is seeking monetary damages in its breach of contract federal lawsuit related to plans to demolish the facility to make way for a partly bond-financed expansion project.  Lonestar Airport Holdings, which sued the city of Austin in August in U.S. District Court for the Western District of

Municipals were weaker as mutual fund outflows continued, while U.S. Treasuries extended their selloff and equities ended in the red. Triple-A yields rose one to three basis points, with the larger losses out long, while UST yields rose eight to 10 basis points across the curve. Muni-UST ratios fell with the three-year at 65%, the

Fintech has transformed the way many industries do business and may finally be turning more attention to state and local government issuers. “The technology that does exist in the space has been more skewed to the dealer community,” said John Gunther, director, business development, Lumesis, which is now a division of SOLVE. “Munis are historically

Bondholders and insurers of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority revenue bonds are defending what they say is their lien on the authority’s revenues. The parties filed a 73-page defense Monday in an adversary complaint in the PREPA bankruptcy on the lien issue. Their defense responds to an Oversight Board complaint submitted Oct. 3 that said

The Internal Revenue Service has closed its examination of the City of Burlington, Vermont’s $9.7 million general obligation public improvement bonds, Series 2010A Qualified School Construction Bonds with no change after the city provided a use of proceeds. At stake was Burlington’s eligibility to continue receiving federal tax credits pursuant to the QSCBs, which like

Municipals were little changed Tuesday amid a multi-billion-dollar large new-issue day with various credit offerings, while U.S. Treasuries improved slightly and equities ended up. Triple-A curves were a touch firmer in spots as secondary trading took a backseat to the larger primary activity with Connecticut general obligation bonds, CommonSpirit healthcare and several competitive issues led

Municipal bond industry veteran Guy Logan has been named to head up Raymond James’ newly formed national infrastructure group. Logan will join the firm’s Atlanta office as a managing director and lead the group, the firm announced Monday. The group will deliver investment banking services to municipal issuers across the country. He most recently worked

Munis were slightly better to kick off the week, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer 10 years and in and equities rallied. Municipal triple-A yields fell one to three basis points Monday while UST saw the 10- and 30-year end the session just above 4%. “Municipal bond yields decoupled from the Treasury market last week, ending basically

Luisella “Sella” Perri has joined the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP’s national healthcare and public finance practice. Perri has wide experience in the public finance arena, the firm said, with a focus on federal tax laws and regulations related to tax-exempt financings.  She has extensive knowledge in matters involving Section 103 of the

Bancroft Capital is beefing up its Dallas-based municipal bond team with the hiring of two individuals with extensive market experience. The certified service-disabled veteran-owned small business, which specializes in institutional brokerage and capital markets services, announced the addition of Alix Cethoute as director of municipal underwriting and Jack Logan as director of municipal sales. “Not

An agreement among the Puerto Rico Oversight Board and the local government in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy leaves the latter with moderate power in the bankruptcy process, observers say. The board, the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, and the PREPA bond trustee U.S. Bank National Association filed the agreement,

Municipals were little changed Friday, largely ignoring a weaker U.S. Treasury market, ahead of a larger new-issue calendar that features several billion-dollar state general obligation deals. U.S. Treasury yields rose, pushing them to multiyear highs. The two-year closed above 4.5% and the 10-year eclipsed 4%. Equities ended down on continued concerns over inflation. Muni-UST ratios

Rhode Island plans to price $227 million of general obligation debt Tuesday in a deal that underscores the state’s capital commitment to education. The competitive deal will price in two tranches: a $162.4 million tax-exempt Series A and $60.3 million federally taxable Series B. The bonds carry the AA rating of Fitch Ratings, Aa2 from

CommonSpirit Health added disclosure of a ransomware attack to its offering statements this week as the nation’s largest not-for-profit system prepares to enter the market with a $1.5 billion transaction, underscoring the acute threats posed to borrowers across the municipal spectrum. The Chicago-based Catholic system created through the 2019 merger of Catholic Health Initiatives and

The tax-exempt market has been relatively slow to jump on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) bandwagon as market participants continue to search for a standard analytical approach.  So far, the institutional buy-side has been leading the charge into sustainable investing, leaving bond underwriters and issuers scratching their heads as to how to best respond.

Bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain approved the Plan of Adjustment for the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority, reducing its debts by 80% and saving it more than $3 billion in debt service payments.   Swain approved the HTA debt plan on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Swain overruled any prior