Bonds

Municipals were steady to end the month and first half of the year ahead of a paltry new-issue calendar which will see next week’s volume drop to the lowest level of 2023. U.S. Treasuries were firmer out long and equities rallied. Treasuries saw yields fall by as much as seven basis points on the long

Not-for-profit hospital balance sheets are on the mend from last year’s challenges that inflicted deep damage on balance sheets, but pressures persist and the recovery is slow going, according to reports published this week. Hospital finances showed signs of stabilizing in May with some improvement in operating margins, declining expenses and notable increases in outpatient visits,

Connecticut is just days away from welcoming the first newborns in the state to benefit from its newly launched baby bond program. At midnight July 1, children born in the state — whose births are covered by Husky, Connecticut’s Medicaid program — will see $3,200 deposited in a trust managed by the State Treasurer’s office,

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain rejected a request by bond parties for her to certify interlocutory appeals of her decisions in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy. In a Wednesday hearing, Swain said she did not see a reason to reconsider her May decision rejecting certifying an appeal to her decision against a

Municipals were little changed in secondary trading Wednesday while sizable deals from Massachusetts, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and others that saw ample demand in the primary and municipal bond mutual funds saw more inflows. U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities closed mixed. Triple-A yield curves were firmer by a basis point in spots

Pension funding-related threats to Chicago and Illinois’ fiscal health are on the rise, reports published this week warn. Chicago and Illinois — longtime examples of outliers nationally on the size of their unfunded liabilities and funded ratios — have made progress, with Chicago now making payments more closely aligned with an actuarial calculation and both

Municipals are steady to slightly firmer in spots Tuesday as the primary market took the focus with gilt-edged Georgia selling its large general obligation offering in the competitive market to strong demand. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities rallied. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 61%, the three-year at 63%, the five-year at 64%,

Vikram Rai, head of Citi’s municipal strategy group, has left the firm, he announced on Monday, after his position was eliminated. “Today was my last day at Citi,” he said in an email to clients. “I got cut,” he told The Bond Buyer. “I’m looking for a new job now.” Rai is an outspoken and

Richard Ravitch, one of the financial saviors of New York City’ during the near bankruptcy of the city in the 1970s, died Sunday. He was 89, just over a week shy of his 90th birthday. Ravitch, a former Lt. Governor of New York State and chair of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was an

The California Housing Finance Agency had its rating upgraded to Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited the state treasurer conduit’s improved financial strength. It is the highest rating in agency history, according to CalHFA, and is among the top ratings that Moody’s assigns to housing finance agencies nationwide. “This rating has CalHFA well-positioned to

Market data platform SOLVE has launched a new platform that provides information for market professionals through the aggregation, curation and delivery of available historical and real-time fixed-income data. Some of the resources available include color from SOLVE’s AI-powered technology, regulatory compliance solutions, coverage of illiquid securities and a suite of tools for new-issue and secondary

As New York City officials grapple with finding ways to balance their budget for the next fiscal year, one area of growing concern revolves around the very ground that the city is built on — commercial real estate. Comptroller Brad Lander’s office last week took a deep dive into how hybrid work is affecting the

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday announced a five-year, $14 billion capital plan that would lean on a mix of funding to carry out work across the state. The fiscal 2024-2028 Capital Investment Plan, Healey’s first capital spending proposal since taking office, includes spending for housing development, transportation, and green energy. “We’re also expanding support

Municipals were slightly firmer Friday ahead of a larger new-issue calendar with bellwether names, as U.S. Treasuries were stronger to close out the week while equities ended in the red. The $6.9 billion new-issue calendar features several high-grade deals, including nearly $1 billion of refunding general obligation bonds from Massachusetts, $886 million of GOs from

Broker-dealers remain hopeful for policy issues vital to the municipal bond market including restoring advance refunding and raising the bank-qualified limit following a Bond Dealers of America fly-in event Thursday. Representatives of BDA member firms descended on Congress in a lobbying blitz that included visits with lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee and the

After a late-night legislative session on Wednesday, members of the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted 38-0 to approve a fiscal year 2024 budget that matches the $3.2 billion size and most substance of Mayor John Cooper’s May budget plan, preserving his signature proposal for a pay increase for public employees, while shifting some funds to do

A “working group” made up of city, state, and labor officials tasked by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson with finding long-term funding and structural fixes to pension funding strains held its first meeting this week with a fall legislative veto session the target for initial action. The group has taken shape in recent weeks after being

Cook County expects to end the current fiscal year with a surplus providing some cushion as it looks to erase an $85.6 million gap looming in the next budget as rising salary and pension expenses, healthcare, and a state change on personal property replacement tax distributions weigh on the county’s fiscal landscape. The gap next

 Chicago deputy Chief Financial Officer Jack Brofman will join the University of Chicago’s finance team next month. Brofman will start at the university July 17 as executive director of global treasury operations reporting to Jee He Kim, associate vice president for finance. “He will play a critical role in all treasury-related decisions of the university,”

Municipals showed some strength Tuesday, U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended down. Triple-A scales bumped up to five basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell three to five basis points. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 62%, the three-year at 65%, the five-year at 66%, the 10-year at 68% and