Bonds

Municipals held steady Friday ahead of a sizable $7 billion, new-issue slate with a mix of credits across the spectrum, from healthcare to housing to toll roads and bellwether general obligation issuers. U.S. Treasuries improved across the curve while equities rebounded after another volatile week across markets. “Bond market investors are all wishing that April was behind us as they
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Investors should be aware of risks that Build America Bonds pose if called under an extraordinary redemption provision, as many of these could result in losses, especially if the bonds were purchased at a premium,the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board warned Friday. That comes amid expectations that issuers will redeem $20 to $30 billion in BABs
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Municipals saw losses Thursday following U.S. Treasuries to higher yields, while equities sold off after GDP growth slowed in the first quarter. While growth slowed, inflation was hotter, said ING Chief International Economist James Knightley, as the core PCE deflator rose 3.7% on an annualized basis, three-tenths of a point higher than expected. “Unsurprisingly Treasury yields
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The Mayo Clinic has ambitious plans that start at home. When the Rochester, Minnesota-based nonprofit healthcare system updated its five-year plan last year, it said the move was part of a “strategy to transform healthcare globally.” The update reflected changes from a $5 billion expansion of Mayo’s flagship Rochester campus.  Mayo’s board of trustees approved
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The California Supreme Court has granted review of a case challenging retirement reforms state lawmakers approved 11 years ago, marking a return of pension spiking questions to the high court for the first time since a 2020 ruling on an Alameda County case. The new case — Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association v. Criminal Justice
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The U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature complained about the governor’s lack of consultation before he declared a state of emergency to pay off Water and Power Authority debts. The legislature gathered Tuesday to express its concerns about Gov. Albert Bryan’s Monday action, which used the emergency declaration to authorize spending the government’s rainy-day funds for WAPA
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has won its first ever case enforcing Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rule G-42 on the duties of non-solicitor municipal advisors after a federal judge in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted partial summary judgment against Choice Advisors and its principal Matthias O’Meara. The court found that
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Improved finances brought Los Angeles Unified School District upgrades from two ratings agencies as it heads to market April 24 with a $2.98 billion Build America Bonds redemption and general obligation bond refunding. The upgrades affect roughly $11 billion in outstanding GOULT bonds and $472 million in outstanding COPs. The school district is the third
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A contentious rule proposal has a host of broker-dealer and investment firms calling for a rewrite as the effects on the municipal bond market portend calamity.  “Overall, we recommend that the rules in general be reconsidered and ideally rewritten,” said Susan Joyce, head of muni trading & FI market structure, AllianceBernstein. “We definitely see a
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The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has approved a request for comment for amendments to its Form A-12 under its registration rule A-12, which would collect information on associated persons from bank dealers for display on MSRB.org. That step was approved during the MSRB’s second quarter meeting that concluded Thursday. The meeting also discussed a bevy
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The Inflation Reduction Act has paved the way for broader participation in affordable housing and a renewed focus by developers on sustainability, panelists at Baker Tilly’s 2024 DevelUP conference said this week. One panelist called the 2022 law “the largest opportunity to build foundational generational wealth that you will experience,” and others praised the tax
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Municipal bond mutual funds saw the first large outflows of 2024, marking tax-deadline selling pressure coinciding with higher rates and volatile U.S. Treasury market moves. LSEG Lipper reported $1.47 billion of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending April 17, “as higher rates and tax liabilities drove outflows from both [exchange-traded funds]
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Municipals were little changed Wednesday as supply slowed and small inflows into muni mutual funds returned. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities saw losses. The Investment Company Institute reported small inflows to municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending April 10, with investors adding $18 million to funds following $69 million of outflows the week
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is asking the Biden Administration for an additional $9 billion to pad its disaster relief fund for the remainder of FY 2024. That was mentioned during the House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, where FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell appeared to discuss the Biden Administration’s $33.1 billion funding request for FEMA
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