Bonds

Anyone who thinks they understand what is happening in the economy — and what will happen — should think some more. The post-pandemic state of the economy is somewhat of a mystery, but a mystery worth exploring. Unemployment is a low 3.9%. Inflation is somewhere between 3.5% and 4.2% depending on which index is used.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has extended the suspension of his state’s gasoline tax for another month amid sustained high fuel costs. Kemp cited “ongoing economic hardships caused by rampant inflation” Wednesday when he signed an executive order foregoing Georgia’s 31.2 cents-per-gallon tax on gas and 35 cents-per-gallon tax on diesel for another month through Nov.

As the timeline for implementing the Financial Data Transparency Act grows shorter, the Securities and Exchange Commission is teaming up with other federal regulators in an attempt to allay fears about implementation.   “There’s no new disclosure requirements, standards or timelines, it’s just about structured data,” said Dave Sanchez, director of the SEC’s Office of Municipal

Municipals were mixed Thursday, largely sitting out another swing to higher yields in U.S. Treasuries after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would not hesitate to hike interest rates further if needed. Equities sold off. Triple-A yields barely budged while USTs saw yields rise by 10 to 14 basis points following a

Voters in Maine rejected a much-debated proposal to replace the state’s two largest power providers with a public utility company in Tuesday’s election. Question 3 on the ballot, which asked voters to approve the state takeover of for-profit power providers Versant and Central Maine Power Company and the creation of a non-profit, publicly owned utility

Tender option bond volume is growing and is expected to reach a 10-year high this year, according to Municipal Market Analytics. About $17 billion of TOBs have been issued so far in 2023, which is on pace to eclipse last year’s $17.6 billion, MMA said. The outstanding TOB market is at about $50 billion from

In a troubled world, booming demand for American military weaponry has left the country in need of billions of dollars more in armaments than it can currently produce.  West Virginia is trying to meet that need. Though its footprint in the national defense sector is small, representing just .1% of the $558.7 billion in defense contracts

A debate over Amtrak funding derailed the House of Representative’s fiscal 2024 transportation bill Tuesday as opponents, many of them Republicans from the northeast, criticized the bill’s deep cuts to the train agency. The House was set to vote Tuesday on the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development measure, one of 12 appropriation bills that GOP leaders

Miami International Airport leads the nation’s airports in recovering passenger traffic lost during the COVD-19 pandemic, according to a report. “We looked at the total passenger recovery levels for 10 of the largest muni market borrowers in the U.S. airport sector and found half have surpassed 2019 levels while the other half remains below pre-pandemic

Several large new-issues priced into a stronger market with munis seeing gains across the yield curve amid constructive secondary activity as U.S. Treasuries pared back some of Mondays losses and equities also improved. Triple-A yields fell three to five basis points while USTs made gains up to eight basis points out long. The two-year muni-to-Treasury

Voters in Rhode Island’ will face several local ballot questions Tuesday, mostly for for local school bonds. Rhode Island is in the midst of a state-backed overhaul of its educational facilities, many of which are deemed to be outdated and in need of replacement or renovation, and local officials hoping to tap a state reimbursement

Fresh signs of a retrenchment among Wall Street firms came Friday with news that Citi CEO Jane Fraser is considering closing the firm’s muni trading and origination business, which some market sources saw as a trial balloon being floated by top executives to test reaction. The potential exit, reported by Bloomberg News, came as a

Municipals rallied Friday across the curve sending triple-A yields lower by as much as 13 basis points as they continued to play catch up to the moves in U.S. Treasuries, which also saw more gains after a weaker jobs report further signaled Fed rate hikes may be done. Equities closed the week in the black.

Two major offshore wind projects in New Jersey got the ax as their developer, Danish energy company Ørsted, reassesses its U.S. portfolio citing sustained inflation and rising construction costs. Mads Nipper, Group President and CEO of Ørsted, on Tuesday said the company was “extremely disappointed” to cancel Ocean Wind 1 and 2, a pair of offshore wind

The notion of channeling federal dollars devoted to infrastructure improvement into affordable housing including office conversions located near mass transit is picking up steam. Quantifying the possibilities and costs offered by the concept remains elusive but recent research is revealing new possibilities.  “We end up concluding something on the order of 10% of the existing

Washington is banking on its high credit ratings and strong demand on previous sales as it heads to market Tuesday with a $483 million competitive refunding.  The bonds will be auctioned in two series: $296.550 million various purpose general obligation refunding bonds, Series R-2024A and $186.225 million motor vehicle fuel tax and vehicle-related fees GO

States would suffer deep cuts in water infrastructure funding they receive through state revolving funds, which make up a significant corner of the municipal bond market, under a bill passed Friday by the U.S. House of Representatives. The fiscal 2024 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations measure, House Bill 4821, totals $37.4

While municipal bond issuance has dropped precipitously the past two years amid volatile markets, environmental, social and governance debt has steadily grown despite issuer hesitation to designate it as such and an ever-more acrimonious political environment emerges over it. ESG issuance for the first three quarters of 2023 was at $27.970 billion, potentially on pace

A Pennsylvania company that operates three nursing homes is in default, and it’s a familiar story: staff shortages and a large slump in occupancy in the aftermath of the pandemic. Senior Choice Inc. failed to make interest and principal payments due Oct. 31 on its $15.9 million bond issued in 2006 by the Cambria County

Municipals rallied hard Thursday following another day of U.S. Treasury market gains while equities closed the session up as investors contemplate the end of Fed rate hikes. Triple-A yields fell 10 to 14 basis points while UST saw gains of up to 16bps out long. These were the largest gains the muni market has seen

Municipals were firmer Wednesday but underperformed a U.S. Treasury rally after the Fed held rates steady. Equities rallied as well. The municipal market was up “a touch” after the Fed announced it would keep rates unchanged at their November meeting, according to Michael Pietronico, chief executive officer at Miller Tabak Asset Management. Commenting on the