Bonds

Municipals were mixed Wednesday as U.S. Treasuries rallied following the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to hike rates a quarter point. Equities sold off. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 64%, the three-year at 65%, the five-year at 67%, the 10-year at 69% and the 30-year at 93%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders asked a magistrate to intervene on discovery issues but were rebuffed. Magistrate Judith Dein, who is handling discovery matters, denied the request because the Oversight Board said it was still considering bondholders’ discovery requests. She ordered the sides to continue to negotiate, with the bondholders filing a status report

Municipals were little changed Tuesday, while U.S. Treasuries extended their sell-off and equities rallied. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 60%, the three-year at 60%, the five-year at 63%, the 10-year at 66% and the 30-year at 91%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the two at 64%, three

The Virgin Islands Superior Court ruled the territory’s Senate has the power to alter the Water and Power Authority’s board of directors, a decision one municipal bond analyst called a credit positive. The court upheld a Senate bill requiring board members to have greater expertise in energy, technology, economics, and finance; reducing the number of

After turning down several chances to legalize sports betting this year, Georgia lawmakers will face another vote on the matter before the end of the legislative session on March 29. The Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee voted 8-1 on Thursday to amend an existing bill designating a local soapbox derby race as the state’s

Municipals were firmer in spots to end a chaotic week that saw triple-A benchmarks both follow U.S. Treasuries in a flight to quality and ignore UST movements — as munis did on Friday for the most part — as the banking sector crisis continued. USTs rallied and equities sold off Friday. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped

Regional leaders in the Northeast kept up high-profile efforts to show support for local entities facing challenges after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank in California and Signature Bank in New York. Despite federal measures to backstop all deposits, even those higher than the $250,000 deposit insurance limit, the failure of the California bank, which

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed an independent watchdog within the California Energy Commission to monitor the state’s petroleum market on a daily basis. The proposal represents a shift from his plan to place a cap on oil company profits, though it would give the commission more authority to investigate gasoline price spikes and the

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Federal Reserve shouldn’t be spooked into easing its campaign to contain inflation out of excessive concern about a credit crunch in the wake of the recent banking turmoil. “It would be very unfortunate if, out of solicitude for the banking system, the Fed were to slow down its

The banking sector crisis cast a wide net of influence over the municipal market this week, stirring pricing volatility, upending monetary policy predictions and raising questions among participants over how deep the troubles run and whether the potential contagion will roil economic prospects. Silvergate Bank’s March 8th announcement it was closing up shop led the

The takeover of the Houston Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on the basis of academic performance does not affect its AA-plus underlying rating, S&P Global Ratings analysts said Friday. The TEA said Wednesday the largest public school district in Texas will be run by a state-appointed board of managers and superintendent

Munis largely ignored a U.S. Treasury sell-off as reports that some troubled banks were getting new funding helped calm investors’ concerns about a global banking crisis. Equities rallied on the news. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped up to five basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose 10 to 25 basis points 10 years

A Biden administration proposal aimed at providing relief for transit agencies struggling with anemic ridership would benefit large agencies but could pressure smaller ones, local transit officials told a Senate panel Wednesday. President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget, unveiled last week, would free up $6.7 billion in so-called 5307 urbanized area grant formula grants

Moody’s Investor’s Service raised the outlook on the A. B. Won Guam International Airport senior revenue bonds Baa2 rating to stable from negative Wednesday. Moody’s Lead Analyst William Oh said the improved outlook stemmed from Moody’s expectation that enplanement levels will continue to improve because South Korea and Japan have lifted COVID-19-related travel restrictions. The

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will not proceed with construction on a proposed AirTrain for LaGuardia Airport following the conclusion of a state-backed evaluation released this week. Transportation and construction industry experts “failed to identify a construction approach” that could overcome the “significant challenges and complexities” associated with plans for a

Illinois drew a fresh rating upgrade Tuesday for making further progress in tackling its chronic fiscal sore spots. Moody’s Investors Service raised Illinois’ general obligation and sales tax-backed Build Illinois bonds by one notch to A3 from Baa1 and assigned a stable outlook. The upgrade also lifts the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority’s rating one

Municipals were little changed Tuesday in secondary trading as the $1.25 billion deal from the New York City Transitional Finance Authority took focus in the primary. Days after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, U.S. Treasuries reversed course and sold off on the heels of the most recent inflation report. Equities ended up. Triple-A benchmarks largely

Wisconsin heads into the market Tuesday with a new money and refunding transportation issue against a backdrop of debate over how to spend a record $7 billion surplus, with the legislature’s Republican majority in the driver’s seat. The size of the borrowing is in flux and dependent on market technicals Tuesday when the deal is

Municipal bond market participants are casting a wary eye at U.S. regional banks after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank of Santa Clara, California, but there was no sign of widespread panic. SVB closed its door Friday after investors lost confidence in the bank’s failing financial performance. It was the largest bank failure since the

Municipals were firmer to end the week, outperforming a U.S. Treasury rally after the employment report revealed more jobs than expected were added in February. Equities sold off. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped five to 10 basis points, depending on the curve, while U.S. Treasury yields fell 20 to 31 basis points, pushing the five-,

President Biden’s proposed budget unveiled Thursday includes the lowering of the private activity bond threshold for Low Income Housing Tax Credits to 25% from 50% and muni lobbyists, though skeptical about the prospects of the budget passing as is, say they will work hard to include the provision in any final budget. “While the President’s