Bonds

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said policy makers could potentially pause interest-rate increases in September after hiking by a half point at each of their next two meetings. “I have got a baseline view where for me I think a pause in September might make sense,” Bostic told reporters Monday following a

A group of House Democrats is renewing its challenge to the state and local tax deduction cap by trying to halt regulation that restricts state legislation targeting the deduction cap. It’s the latest skirmish in the ongoing challenge to the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, which was established in 2017 as part

Factory and port shutdowns in China, the Port of Oakland’s largest trading partner, were a leading factor in a double-digit drop in cargo volume in April, port officials said. Disruptions at Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, are delaying U.S.-bound import shipments and wreaking havoc on ocean carrier scheduling.  “U.S. exports have been hampered by vessel schedules thrown

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority will increase rates, change water meters and take other steps to raise $1 billion over five years to address growing expenses. The board’s fiscal plan includes a 4.95% increase in the base charge in fiscal 2023 and a 2% increase in consumption charges from fiscal 2023 to fiscal

The Municipal Forum of New York honored three industry leaders and awarded a scholarship to an Urban Leadership Fellows at its annual dinner on Thursday. Homer Schaaf, Of Counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright, was awarded the Forum’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Elizabeth Fine, counsel to the governor of New York State, receivedr the Public Service Award,

Laws proposed or passed by several states prohibiting local governments from paying ransoms in cyberattacks are viewed as an encouraging trend by Moody’s Investors Service. The laws enhance preparedness and incident response, which Moody’s wrote in a commentary, are both credit positives for local governments. “The measures to prohibit ransomware payments will encourage local governments

Municipals were better Friday after catching a bid in the secondary, finally following U.S. Treasuries in a flight-to-quality, while still underperforming, keeping valuations above 100% on the 10- and 30-year. Equities pared back earlier losses to end mixed after the S&P 500 dipped into bear market territory earlier in the session. “The correlation between stocks

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board won an Appeals Court decision on its central government Plan of Adjustment but lost a ruling on its coverage by local document disclosure laws.  The board lost its battle on sovereign immunity, as a federal appeals court ruled in favor of media that requested board documents be released. The board

Gerald Corrigan, who spent a quarter century at the Federal Reserve, including an eight-year stint as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, died Tuesday in Boston. He was 80. After leaving the New York Fed in 1993, Corrigan entered the private sector. He worked more than two decades for Goldman Sachs, retiring

The restoration of tax-exempt advance refunding, the municipal bond market’s highest legislative priority, likely won’t get passed for years to come as Democrats are expected to lose at least one chamber of Congress and further political gridlock is expected. That’s according to panelists speaking at NFMA’s annual conference on Thursday, as panelists gathered to discuss

Illinois priced $1.64 billion of general obligation debt Wednesday at spreads on par with current trading levels that have more than doubled this year due to market turmoil despite a round of upgrades. A U.S. Treasury market rally helped calm the market, but news of a 17th week of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds

Siebert Williams Shank is aiming to elevate its role in the higher education sector with the establishment of a dedicated group led by Chicago-based public finance professional Julia Harris. Harris recently joined the top-ranked women and minority-owned firm as a managing director and head of the higher education group. SWS is no stranger to the

St. Louis County, Missouri, takes competitive bids Wednesday on $114 million of special obligation bonds that will provide its long-stalled share of public financing for the expansion and renovation of the downtown convention center. The bonds mature from 2034 to 2047. Columbia Capital Management LLC is advising the county. The bonds are rated AA rating

With the need for greater efficiency and liquidity in the municipal market, participants say the time is ripe for the expansion and adaptation of electronic trading platforms in the space. While it’s hard to quantify how much of the market is electronic, John Bagley, the MSRB chief market structure officer, said anecdotally there has been

Municipals were little changed and U.S. Treasuries were mixed in what amounted to a relatively quiet day for fixed-income markets, while equities were mixed to end the day. Municipals took more of a wait-and-see approach ahead of a calendar filled with general obligation bonds from credits across the spectrum. Municipal to UST ratios were still

Although discounting has a critical role in funding and refunding decisions, it does not receive the attention it deserves. For example, to analyze a refunding proposal, we need to determine the cost of the outstanding and the refunding bonds on a present-value basis. Should tax-exempt and taxable bonds be discounted with the same rate or

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester backed raising interest rates by half percentage points at the central bank’s next two policy meetings in order to tamp down surging inflation.  “Unless there are some big surprises, I expect it to be appropriate to raise the policy rate another 50 basis points at each of

As gas prices hit a fresh record high Friday, some analysts wonder when they will begin to impact the credit quality of transportation assets, like toll roads and airlines. Not now, S&P Global Ratings said in a report, but that could change if high prices stick around. “From a historical perspective, volatile fuel prices have

Illinois’ rosier near-term fiscal landscape and state bond rating momentum helped lift the ratings of public transit agencies and the state’s public universities and more than $5 billion of rated debt.   Earlier this month, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority’s $1.7 billion of general obligation bonds to Aa3 from A1 due

California Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out an $18 billion inflation-relief package during his May budget revision that included $400 rebates to car owners as well as expanded rental assistance and help covering past-due utility bills. The state budget boasts a $97.5 billion surplus, according to the governor’s estimates, but lawmakers also face spending restrictions from