Bonds

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s $36 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 seeks to raise capital spending without adding debt and bolster reserves. McMaster told lawmakers in a letter last week he wants to take full advantage of the state’s unexpected $3.8 billion budget surplus ahead of a potential recession. “South Carolina’s booming economy

Municipal yields fell Friday ahead of a heavier new-issue calendar while U.S. Treasuries and equities rallied after the latest jobs report offered signs that may suggest inflation will be cooling. Triple-A benchmark yields fell six to 15 basis points, depending on the scale, pushing the 10-year muni below 2.50% and the 30-year muni below 3.50%.

In her inaugural address, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey affirmed her administration’s commitment to overhauling the state’s public transportation infrastructure. “The state of our trains and roads and bridges today is unacceptable,” Healey said Thursday, adding there was an “urgency” for capital development of the state’s neglected transportation infrastructure as she took office. Her plan calls

Chicago sent a $242 million supplemental payment to its pension systems, making good on a funding policy adopted as part of the 2023 budget that helped lift its one junk rating back into investment-grade territory. Efforts to better align expenses with recurring revenues, shed one-time maneuvers like scoop-and-toss debt restructuring, and complete a move to

The crisis that has engulfed Republican House leadership this week, whatever the outcome, could complicate the public finance agenda in the 118th Congress. For issuers, an emergent ultra-conservative influence in the House could raise the risk of a government shutdown and bring fresh scrutiny to key topics like the so-called PAYGO waiver for tax subsidies,

A federal judge’s dismissal of former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s request that the state stop spending federal relief money on schools that do not have mask mandates won’t impact the state’s other litigation related to clawbacks of relief money used for tax cuts. The move follows Ducey’s motion for dismissal,

Public finance banking industry veteran Sean Boyea has joined Siebert Williams Shank & Co. as a managing director in Sacramento. Boyea brings more than three decades of public finance experience to the minority- and women-owned heavyweight, and will launch its office in California’s state capital. “SWS has a rich history for being opportunistic during economic

Municipals were mixed Thursday in the secondary market as a $765 million deal from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority took focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were weaker 10 years and in, and equities ended lower. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 59%, the five-year at 63%, the 10-year at 69% and the 30-year

Chicago launched a tender offer this week as part of its upcoming Sales Tax Securitization Corp. transaction that will also debut the city’s first social bonds that target seven trackable Chicago Recovery Plan projects. The tender offer to holders of $2.9 billion of general obligation debt expires Tuesday at 5 p.m. EST, with the acceptance

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George said the U.S. central bank should raise its benchmark interest rate above 5% and hold it there well into 2024 to bring inflation down. “I have raised my forecast over 5%,” George said Thursday in an interview on CNBC television, referring to her projection for the

Munis rallied Wednesday as outflows lessened and U.S. Treasury yields fell in lockstep even as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed participants agreeing rate cuts are not expected in 2023. Equities ended up. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped four to 15 basis points, depending on the curve, while U.S. Treasury yields fell

Despite opposition from various municipal bond market experts and interest groups, Congress has now instructed the Securities and Exchange Commission to develop machine-readable standards for EMMA filings. As implementation of the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) begins, it is important to clear up some misunderstandings about this legislation. Opponents of FDTA expressed concern that a

Passenger counts at the three Port Authority of New York and New Jersey airports were higher in November than in November 2019, marking the first month they beat a pre-pandemic comparison. Air travel was up 2% when compared to the same time period in 2019, as Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport,

Most analysts are willing to commit to a slowdown in inflation in 2023, but a recession remains a trickier call.  “I think the bond market is right, a recession is coming,” said Liz Young, head of investment strategy at SoFi, “and the economic indicators reinforce that message.” The debate over the likelihood of a recession

Total 2022 municipal bond sale volume plunged 21% from 2021, as issuers were flush with cash and rising interest rates stymied refundings and taxable issuances. December municipal bond issuance, at $17.165 billion, also disappointed, dropping 58.1% from the same period a year earlier. The muni market saw $384.086 billion of debt issued in 2022, nearly

Municipals finished out the last trading day of the year little changed in an abbreviated session that saw Treasury yields rise and equity prices fall. “Bond investors bid a not-so-fond farewell to 2022 as they look forward to a much more attractive 2023,” said Bryce Doty, senior vice president at Sit Investment Associates. The markets

Against the backdrop of a persistent drought, Arizona made an initial move toward the possibility of piping desalinated water from the Gulf of California in Mexico to the land-locked state’s growing population. The Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority approved a resolution Dec. 20 allowing the agency to evaluate a proposal from Israel-based IDE Technologies that envisions

The U.S. Virgin Islands would privatize its only two airports under a process launched Thursday that would mark the second long-term lease for a U.S.-based airport asset. The Virgin Islands Port Authority Thursday released an RFQ outlining a relatively fast-paced process that aims to select a final team by the end of 2023 with groundbreaking

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Finance Abuse Unit’s recent and relatively novel pursuit of firms accused of violating the limited offering exemption has securities lawyers expecting more focus on that area in the coming year, even likening it to one of the most significant muni enforcement initiatives of the past decade. In September, the

The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project has been awarded $1.6 billion in federal funding grants, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday. The approval of the funds will let the improvement project move into the construction phase in 2023. Kentucky and Ohio were seeking the grants under the Infrastructure Investment and