Bonds

Municipal bond mutual funds saw the first large outflows of 2024, marking tax-deadline selling pressure coinciding with higher rates and volatile U.S. Treasury market moves. LSEG Lipper reported $1.47 billion of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending April 17, “as higher rates and tax liabilities drove outflows from both [exchange-traded funds]

When it comes to issuing municipal bonds in Louisiana, state Treasurer John Fleming like things just the way they are. Fleming is pushing back against a proposal in the state Legislature that would make changes to the way the state Bond Commission oversees the issuance of debt by cities, counties and local governments and entities.

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as supply slowed and small inflows into muni mutual funds returned. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities saw losses. The Investment Company Institute reported small inflows to municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending April 10, with investors adding $18 million to funds following $69 million of outflows the week

Wisconsin’s Housing and Economic Development Authority last week rolled out its Infrastructure Access Loan program, a partnership with developers and local governments to build more workforce housing, against the backdrop of a worsening housing affordability crisis. Housing supply shortages and high home prices have driven existing home sales to a nadir last seen during the

Municipals were slightly weaker as the focus turned to a large new-issue day with deals upsized and accelerated. The asset class followed U.S. Treasuries to higher yields while equities closed the session up. Triple-A yields rose one to five basis points, depending on the curve, while UST yields rose up to four basis points. The

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. The Bond Buyer is proud to announce the return of nominations for the Hall of Fame of municipal finance for a third class of inductees, alongside the ninth annual class of Rising Stars, a program which showcases the brightest young minds in

Brodie Killian has moved to PFM Financial Advisors from Stifel Nicolas & Co., joining its Ann Arbor office as a director. The move represents the capstone achievement of Killian’s broad career in the municipal bond market, he told The Bond Buyer.  “My past experience gives me a unique perspective as a municipal advisor who has

Duluth, Minnesota-based St. Luke’s Hospital’s new affiliation with Wisconsin-based Aspirus has lifted the prospects for its speculative-grade bonds. S&P Global Ratings placed the hospital’s BB-plus rated bonds on CreditWatch with positive implications April 5, citing the March transaction which made Aspirus responsible for all of St. Luke’s debt. A CreditWatch positive typically means that S&P

Geopolitical turmoil roiled markets Friday, sending investors on a flight-to-safety trade into U.S. Treasuries while equities sold off after news reports that Israel was bracing for an attack by Iran on government targets and that China was providing Russia with drone and missile components.  Municipal bonds followed USTs as yields fell in both asset classes

The City of Richmond, Virginia is changing course on a nearly $280 million bond issuance that will build a new minor league baseball stadium anchoring a $2.4 billion mixed-use project on 67-acres just northwest of downtown Richmond.  Last week the Diamond District project, which includes retail, housing, and office space took a public financing turn when the

Bond insurance continued its upward trajectory in the first quarter of 2024, leading the two top municipal bond insurers to expand. Municipal bond insurance grew 24.4% in the first quarter of the 2024 year-over-year. The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped $7.132 billion in the first quarter of 2024, up from the $5.735 billion of

Spreads on Build America Bonds have widened “significantly” in the last few months amid a wave of refinancings despite a debate over the legal ability of issuers to call the debt, according to municipal bond strategists. So far this year, the BABs index option-adjust spread has cheapened 10bps compared to the ICE Broad Taxable Municipal

The late March collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge raises questions about the age and resiliency of U.S. infrastructure that engineers and the finance industry will need to address together. That’s the view of Maria Lehman, immediate past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, GHD’s infrastructure market leader for the United States

The not-for-profit healthcare sector continues to face challenges, including a high number of bond covenant violations, which can provide an early warning of payment defaults, said Lisa Washburn, chief credit officer and managing director for Municipal Market Analytics.   “The hospital sector has definitely seen improvement since the worst of 2022, but I would still

Municipals were mixed Thursday in secondary trading as focus shifted to California’s nearly $1.5 billion of tax-exempt and taxable general obligation bond deals in the competitive market while U.S. Treasuries were weaker out long after Wednesday’s short-end selloff and equities were in the black at the close. Triple-A yield curves saw a mix of bumps

Despite a rating upgrade ahead of the deal, Louisiana paid a wider spread to a 10-year benchmark when it sold general obligation bonds Tuesday than it did a year ago. In Tuesday’s pricing, the state paid a 15 basis point spread to the Triple-A benchmark evaluated by BVAL for the 2034 maturity, with 5% coupons.

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday upgraded its long-term rating on Detroit’s unlimited-tax general obligation debt to investment grade, raising it to BBB from BB-plus. The outlook is stable. The rating agency said the change reflected a stronger financial position and its “increased confidence in the city’s ability to sustain balance within the construct of its

When a ransomware attack struck the city of Huber Heights, Ohio, Nov. 12, it first showed up in a 911 dispatch center computer. A Russian hacker group known as Black Suit, said City Manager Richard Dzik, went on to encrypt multiple city servers and machines, and ultimately gained access to the data of about 5,000

Munis were a touch firmer in spots Tuesday as the primary market ramped up and investors awaited Wednesday’s inflation report to give further guidance on Fed rate cuts. U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were mixed at the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 65%, the three-year at 64%, the five-year at 61%,

Texas, where the use of public-private partnerships (P3s) by the state transportation department has been stymied, is now looking to end a 52-year agreement for a toll lane project that was partially financed with private-activity bonds.  The Texas Transportation Commission voted March 28 to terminate a 2016 comprehensive development agreement (CDA) with Blueridge Transportation Group,