A tough year for Wall Street municipal underwriting firms culminated Thursday with Citigroup’s announcement it would exit the business, a stunning move that market participants warned would raise state and city financing costs and that Citi would come to regret as headwinds calm and business rebounds. “It’s a major disappointment,” said Matt Fabian, a partner
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S&P Global Ratings revised California’s rating outlook to stable from positive Friday, citing the state’s projected $68 billion multi-year deficit, revenue uncertainties and economic conditions. The state holds ratings of AA-minus from S&P, AA from Fitch Ratings and Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service. The state also has a stable outlook from Fitch. Moody’s revised the
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Connecticut is set to price $840 million of general obligation bonds next week, the state’s last issuance of a year with landmark fiscal policy decisions. The state, which renewed fiscal responsibility measures, lowered income taxes and maintained strong economic metrics, kept its solid ratings from all four agencies for the upcoming deal.  “Management in Connecticut,
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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. EU leaders gathering in Brussels have vowed to find a way to support Ukraine after Hungary’s Viktor Orbán vetoed a €50bn lifeline for the war-torn country. Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that “Ukraine will
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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
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Municipals rallied hard Thursday, playing catch up to the moves in U.S. Treasuries, which extended their gains for a second session following the Federal Open Market Committee’s clear communication of future rate cuts in 2024. Equities continued their rally. Triple-A yields fell 13 to 17 basis points, depending on the curve, but the gains were
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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
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An aerial view of existing homes near new homes under construction (UPPER R) in the Chatsworth neighborhood on September 08, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.  Mario Tama | Getty Images Homeowners looking to refinance are finding savings after mortgage rates dropped again last week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming
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Two big Illinois issuers have scheduled refunding deals with planned pricings on Thursday, with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to issue $900 million of series 2024A senior revenue refunding bonds and Chicago’s Midway Airport to sell $393 million of series 2023C senior revenue refunding bonds.   Rising interest rates had made refundings thin on the
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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October, driven by falls in every sector and fuelling concerns that high interest rates could push the country into a downturn. Gross domestic product fell 0.3 per cent between
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