Bonds

Munis were slightly firmer in spots Wednesday with more of the focus on the primary, including a large taxable California general obligation bond sale in the competitive market, while U.S. Treasuries were better and equities ended the session up. The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported investors pulled $2.407 billion from municipal bond mutual funds in

Munis were weaker Tuesday, but outperformed a U.S. Treasury selloff. Equities sold off as well. Triple-A yields rose anywhere from two to eight basis points while UST saw yields rise by as much as 13 basis points out long. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 72%, the three-year was at 72%, the five-year at

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled with New Orleans-based auditor Luther Speight and Company and its principal Luther Speight for violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act by failing to adhere to Generally Accepted Auditing Standards in connection with a Louisiana school board’s 2019 audit. Jacob Frenkel, chair of government investigations and securities

A group of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders opposed to the Oversight Board’s proposed plan of adjustment identified its members Wednesday. The new faction, called the PREPA Ad Hoc Group, holds $2.1 billion in uninsured PREPA bonds and hundreds of millions of dollars more in insured bonds. $8.5 billion of PREPA bonds were outstanding

The $1.2 billion in private-activity bonds supporting Los Angeles International Airport’s people mover train have been removed from negative watch by Fitch Ratings and placed on negative outlook. The ratings on the bonds issued through the California Municipal Finance Authority were affirmed at BBB-minus. The people mover is the centerpiece of LAX’s $5.5 billion Landside

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has requested comment on draft amendments to Rule G-12 on uniform practice, in efforts to codify, retire and reorganize 40 pieces of interpretive guidance related to interdealer confirmations. The move will aid the MSRB in its goal of retiring approximately 20% of its body of interpretive guidance, much of which

A pair of Texas Congressmen are urging the Federal Railroad Administration to reject joint grant applications by Amtrak and railroad company Texas Central to build high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston. Republicans Rep. Jake Ellzey and Rep. Michael McCaul sent a Sept. 28 letter to the FRA outlining their opposition to the controversial project. The

California Democratic leaders are asking the state Supreme Court to remove a business-backed measure from the November ballot that would require voter approval for any increase in state or local taxes. Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, filed an emergency petition with the state Supreme Court Tuesday

After selling off for a week and a half, munis ended Friday’s session firmer, but September losses moved the asset class into the red for the year, returning -1.79%. “September and to a lesser degree October have not been kind to municipal investors in recent history, with average returns of -5.7% and -1.8%, respectively, going

Spartanburg, South Carolina, will soon be home to another city’s minor league baseball team with the help of the city’s largest-ever economic development package. Spartanburg’s city council approved a $425 million public-private partnership development deal on Tuesday, anchored on a new 3,500-seat minor league baseball stadium officials said will help revitalize the city’s downtown area.

September municipal bond issuance rose slightly year-over-year, becoming the first month of 2023 to see supply increase from 2022 levels, as several billion-dollar deals were priced and a general market acceptance of the Fed’s ‘higher for longer’ stance took hold. Led by tax-exempt, new-money deals, September’s total volume ticked up 1.2% to $27.585 billion in

Massachusetts’ House of Representatives passed a hotly debated series of tax cuts this week. Following months of legislative back-and-forth on the package’s provisions, state representatives voted 55-1 Wednesday to pass a series of tax cuts expected to provide $561 billion in breaks across its first year. The bill has seen revision after revision since Gov.

Municipal bonds tied to Destiny USA, the biggest shopping mall in New York state, were cut deeper into junk by Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday because the complex is unlikely to meet a key measure of profitability needed to extend an outstanding loan. Moody’s lowered the rating on municipal bonds backed by payments in lieu

After selling off late last week and at the start of the week, the municipal market continued to weaken but with smaller cuts to AAA scales amid an active primary market. U.S. Treasury yields rose, and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 70%, the three-year was at 70%, the five-year at

A court decision on Monday cleared the way for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to head to the municipal market with $500 million of bonds to start financing a controversial expansion program. The Oklahoma Supreme Court, which validated the bonds Aug. 1 in a 6-3 decision, denied a petition for a rehearing requested by property owners

Fitch Ratings revised to positive from stable the outlook on $32 million of refunding revenue bonds associated with the construction of Atlanta’s city courthouse as revenue streams continue a post-pandemic recovery. The outlook change applies to $32 million of tax-exempt certificates of participation issued by the Georgia Municipal Authority in 2016 to refund a 2002

Arizona’s Water Infrastructure Finance Authority is “strongly considering” public financing as it seeks ideas on how the drought-prone state could expand its water supply with the help of a $1 billion fund, the agency’s head said. WIFA Director Chuck Podolak told reporters Friday that bonds are “on the table” in conjunction with the long-term water

Municipal bond prices weakened again Monday as the market looked ahead to a $6.3 billion slate of sales led by two big deals from issuers in Texas and Florida. Municipals continued the selloff seen last week, with yields rising Monday by as many as 12 basis points. Treasury yields also rose while stock prices ended

Oklahoma lawmakers will meet in a special session next month called by Gov. Kevin Stitt, who wants to put the state on a path to zero income taxes and proposed a trigger law related to the state’s future ability to tax certain Native Americans.   In a post on X, the message platform formerly known as Twitter,

Bondholders may have actionable claims related to the sale of now-defaulted debt that financed an Arizona participant sports venue for Legacy Cares Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in May, according to a disclosure notice.  Law firm Davis & Ceriani “has concluded that there may be actionable claims related to the sale of the bonds that