Bonds

Citigroup will close its municipal division by the end of the first quarter of 2024, leaving behind a historic tenure in a market it once dominated in both underwriting and secondary market-making. The firm decided to “wind down our municipal underwriting and market-making activities” after a “broad-based review” of its muni business, according to a

Oregon’s march toward adding tolls to its mix of transportation revenues may have hit a snag this week. The Oregon Department of Transportation’s plan to toll Portland-area highways hit opposition from a federal lawmaker before it even hit the governor’s desk. The Oregon Transportation Commission had approved a staff proposal — which includes holding public

Triple-A municipal bond yields fell a few basis points Wednesday following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates and signal that only three rate cuts were likely in 2024, which sent U.S. Treasury yields plummeting down more than a quarter point on the short end while equities rallied and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed

Florida’s $114.4 billion proposed budget for fiscal 2024-2025 continues a more than decade-long trend of paying down debt while limiting new bond issuance. Gov. Ron DeSantis released his recommended budget on Dec. 5, which would spend almost 4%, or $4.6 billion, less than the current fiscal year. The budget proposal includes $455 million in funding

Municipals were mostly steady to a touch softer in secondary trading while newly upgraded gilt-edged Ohio upsized its general obligation refunding deal and repriced to lower yields. U.S. Treasuries improved on the day following cooler inflation data that many participants said would not move the needle on the Federal Reserve’s rates decision Wednesday. Triple-A yields

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Transcription:Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record. Keeley Webster (00:04):Hello, I am Keeley Webster. Welcome to another Bond Buyer podcast. The Governors of

Bondholders and other parties involved in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy returned to court Friday in an effort to move the needle on their opposing cases seeking better repayment terms. Bond parties defended their adversary complaint against Puerto Rico’s central government’s actions regarding PREPA since the central government emerged from bankruptcy in March

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ and Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo have joined Israel Bonds’ new Government, Industry and Financial Services Leadership Board. “If Hamas stopped fighting today, there would be no more war. If Israel stops fighting, there will be

Ohio for the first time can boast of a trifecta of triple-A ratings after S&P Global Ratings on Friday gave top marks to the state’s issuer and general obligation ratings. “The upgrades reflect our view of Ohio’s demonstrated commitment to active budget management and building and maintaining reserves through economic cycles,” said S&P analyst Rob

Municipals were steady Friday, ignoring weakness in the U.S. Treasury market after the jobs report came in hotter-than-expected. Equities ended up. The November payroll report “was stronger than Wall Street was expecting, and we are already seeing significant upward pressure on Treasury yields,” said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist and managing director at BMO Economics.

Moody’s Investors Service raised its outlook on U.S. nonprofit higher education sector to stable from negative on Thursday, citing expected narrowing gaps between expense and revenue growth. Also on Thursday, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its “bifurcated” outlook for the sector, which includes a negative outlook for less selective, more regional institutions without financial flexibility and

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will need to close a $68 billion shortfall as he wraps up work on the proposed budget for fiscal 2024 that he will present to lawmakers in January. The upshot is that the flooding and massive storms that hit California in early 2023 and pushed income tax filings in the state

Alan Appelbaum, former managing director and head of Aegis Capital Corp.’s municipal bond desk, has agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he disregarded his obligations as a broker-dealer and violated antifraud provisions in his recommendation of certain variable interest rate structured products to seven investors. Without admitting or denying the findings, Applebaum,

The U.S. Treasury Department would be authorized to float up to $1 billion of bonds exempt from state and local taxes to fund climate resiliency projects under a measure introduced Wednesday by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The bill would allow Treasury to issue “climate bonds” for purchase by “any American” to finance projects undertaken by

Municipals were slightly firmer Thursday as the last of the week’s large new-issues came and went while U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities ended up ahead of Friday’s much-anticipated jobs report. Triple-A yields fell one to three basis points while USTs yields were relatively flat, only a basis point down out long. Relative value

BNP Paribas Securities Corp. officially opened its Miami office on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by bank officials and local government dignitaries. “Adding Miami as a key location for our corporate and institutional banking business will be an important part in getting closer to our many clients in the South Florida area and

Municipals were firmer Wednesday while a busy primary market saw Pennsylvania sell $2.1 billion of general obligation bonds competitively and the New York City Transitional Finance Authority repriced its $1.3 billion of revenue bonds in the negotiated market with yields lowered by up to 12 basis points from Tuesday’s retail offering. Treasuries were firmer five

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is seeking applications to fill three positions, two public representatives and one regulated representative, for its board of directors for the 2025 fiscal year. The application window will be open from Jan. 2 until Feb. 9 and can be submitted through the MSRB’s Board of Directors Application Portal. “Ensuring the

The city of Chicago and its Sales Tax Securitization Corporation won The Bond Buyer’s 22nd annual Deal of the Year award for its $1.7 billion financing that addressed initiatives related to affordable housing, homelessness support services, environmental justice, and community development. The issuance, which was the Deal of the Year in the Midwest category, included

Municipals were little changed Monday, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended down. November was a “positive month” for munis as triple-A yields fell on an average of 89 basis points, bringing month-to-date returns of 6.35% and pushing year-to-date returns to 3.98% through the end of the month, Jason Wong, vice president of municipals

Two years into a public-private partnership to rebuild and take over the New York State Thruway Authority’s service areas, the project is 225 days behind schedule, a delay that has led to a technical default and prompted Fitch Ratings to revise its outlook to negative from stable. AECOM Tishman, the design-build contractor who is responsible