Bonds

Municipals were weaker amid more selling pressure to close out the week, U.S. Treasury yields rose with the 10-year sitting firmly above 3% and equities ended in the red. Triple-A muni benchmarks were cut up to four basis points while UST yields rose five to 10 basis points five years and out. Muni to UST

S&P Global Ratings raised Illinois’ ratings by one notch Friday. The action completes a round of upgrades that rewarded the state for progress in tackling chronic strains that were made worse by a two-year budget impasse that dragged the state’s ratings to the edge of junk. S&P lifted the general obligation rating to BBB-plus from

The Texas Natural Gas Securitization Finance Corporation on Friday picked Jefferies to lead a team of underwriters for its upcoming $3.4 billion bond issue for utilities that were hit with high costs during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri. A few members of that team — Morgan Stanley, one of the deal’s co-senior managers, along with co-managers

The Connecticut legislature did not fund the “baby bonds” program it adopted last year in the $24.2 billion fiscal 2023 budget it approved this week. “I am disappointed to hear about these unexpected developments. Connecticut led the way in addressing the racial wealth gap last year with the passage of CT Baby Bonds,” state Treasurer

Wisconsin Capital Finance Director David Erdman will retire in July after a 32-year career with the state, the last seven in the role of debt manager during which the state won upgrades and his stature as an advocate for the issuer community grew. Erdman plans to leave the state July 2 and on July 5

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi halted collections of a gasoline and diesel tax for 45 days, in a step that may lead to conflict with the Oversight Board and may run afoul of a revenue provision in the bond restructuring law. Pierluisi signed the moratorium late Tuesday. In late March, Board General Counsel Jaime El

Municipals were mixed as participants mostly sat on sidelines while U.S. Treasuries rallied on the short end after the Fed hiked rates a half-percentage point. Equities rallied to close the day. The 50 basis point rate hike is the steepest increase since 2000 and follows the 25 basis point rate hike in March. The bond

Municipals were weaker Tuesday in choppy secondary trading while U.S. Treasuries and equities were mixed near the close. Triple-A benchmarks were cut up to three points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose on the short end and fell seven years and out. Muni to UST ratios were at 83% in five years, 94%

The U.S. economy will probably fall into a recession as the Federal Reserve combats multidecade-high inflation, Randal Quarles, the Fed’s former vice chair for supervision, said. “Given the intensity of inflation, the degree to which unemployment has been driven down — to bring that back into an equilibrium, it’s unlikely the Fed is going to

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board submitted a proposed Plan of Adjustment for the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority and proposed a confirmation hearing for it to be held in mid-September. The board submitted the proposed plan, proposed Disclosure Statement, and three other motions concerning the legal processes on the road to confirmation on Monday

The Fed’s choreographed rate-raising exercise may well tail off by year’s end, several prominent asset managers said Monday. The managers were speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference Beverly Hills. . “I think the Fed will turn dovish by the end of the year and that will lead to a lot of opportunity on the

Illinois plans to hit the market with at least $1 billion of general obligation paper before fiscal 2022 ends June 30, the first deal to benefit from the state’s latest rating upgrade. The state “intends to sell general obligation bonds prior to June 30, 2022, to support the upcoming construction season, to continue the pension-buyout

Oregon filed amended offering documents Thursday for a recent lottery bond deal after the state Court of Appeals reversed a $1 billion verdict against the state in a dispute over forest management. The Department of Administrative Services had priced $217.7 million in lottery revenue bonds in two tranches of taxable and tax-exempt debt two weeks

Municipal issuance dropped 7.5% year-over-year in April, again owing to a drop in taxable and refunding volumes in the face of continued market volatility and rising interest rates. The $34 billion figure is slightly up from the 10-year average of $33.612 billion. Total April volume was $34.329 billion in 729 deals versus $37.105 billion in

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to issue a request for comment on a retrospective review of its Rule G-14 in hopes of cutting down the standard 15 minute time of trade reporting window that has been in place since 2005. That was decided at the MSRB’s quarterly board meeting which concluded Thursday. The MSRB

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on the Reedy Creek Improvement District to developing from stable due to the uncertainty as to what will happen next in the economic/political saga playing out in Florida. “The outlook revision to developing reflects our view that there is at least a one-in-three chance that the credit profile securing

Municipals were mixed Friday, outperforming larger losses in U.S. Treasury ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week where the Fed is expected to implement another rate hike. Equities sold off led by tech stocks. Triple-A benchmarks were cut up to two basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose seven

Municipals were weaker Thursday amid increased secondary selling pressure, while U.S. Treasury yields rose 10 years and in after the unanticipated decline in first-quarter gross domestic product. Equities rallied. Triple-A yield benchmarks were cut up to three basis points, while USTs saw the largest losses inside of 10 years. Muni to UST ratios were at

Challenges to the Puerto Rico Plan of Adjustment heard by the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Thursday will not impact the terms for bondholders, but may affect the government’s ability to pay debt service. Puerto Rico credit unions argued Puerto Rico’s central government engaged in fraud by pressuring them to buy nearly $1

Municipals were mostly steady Wednesday amid a busy primary market, while U.S. Treasuries sold off, paring back gains from the past two trading sessions, and equities ended in the black. The UST improvements were short-lived and yields rose on Wednesday by as much as 11 basis points. Municipal participants are being less reactive to UST