Bonds

The Chicago Public Schools board of education unanimously approved the $9.9 billion fiscal 2025 budget Thursday.  The vote came on the heels of a report from the Civic Federation of Chicago, a nonprofit fiscal watchdog, that warned the budget “presents a temporary solution to a long-term structural financial problem.”  The budget represents an increase of

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has elected Warren “Bo” Daniels, managing director and head of public finance at Loop Capital Markets to serve as chair of the board for FY 2025, with Jennie Bennett, associate vice president for finance at the University of Chicago elected as vice chair.  That came out of the MSRB’s final

Economic development, infrastructure, and housing rank as the primary priorities for mayors and their constituents across the nation, according to the 2024 National League of Cities State of the Cities Report. This year’s report reveals how municipalities are faring in the post-COVID-19 environment, and how mayors are addressing their constituents’ concerns in the nation’s current

The $2 billion people mover, which would link SoFi Stadium with one of Los Angeles’ newer transit lines, appears to be moving ahead despite a couple of broadsides to the project this month. The proposed Inglewood Transit Connector project is a 1.6-mile, fully automated, elevated, fixed-guideway transit system, which would have three transit stations in

Municipals were mixed Thursday, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer five years and out and equities ended mixed after data showed the economy grew at a hotter-than-expected pace in the second quarter. “News that U.S. economic growth accelerated faster than expected in the second quarter has sent market participants on a roller-coaster ride,” said José Torres,

The looming 2028 Olympics and the specter of crime took center stage at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s state of the agency event this week. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass handed off the gavel and her title as Metro chair to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn during Wednesday’s event held at Union

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of another large new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasury yields fell further and equities ended higher. A “relatively difficult start to the year” was expected, “as Treasury yields were too low, market participants were too optimistic about the number of rate cuts this year, and muni ratios were near their multi-year

In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent reversal of the so-called Chevron doctrine, House Republican leaders Wednesday launched a review of the Biden administration’s environmental, social and governance agency regulations. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent letters this

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s amendments to Rule G-47 on time of trade disclosure, adding three disclosure scenarios, retiring some existing guidance and clarifying some supplemental information. The amendments were filed with the Commission in April and the amendments themselves were discussed and approved at the MSRB’s quarterly

Officials in East St. Louis, Illinois, have sued the local police and firefighter pension boards and the state comptroller to block the use of a law allowing the comptroller to intercept state funds going to the city and redirect them to pension payments. According to the Belleville News-Democrat, the city is challenging the law’s legitimacy

Municipals were mixed in secondary trading Wednesday as the primary market took focus, led by a $1.2 billion deal in three series from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly and equities ended up. Thursday’s consumer price index report is the “event of the week,” said Cooper Howard,

Solid investment returns and higher interest rates have been a boon for state and local pension funds, Moody’s Ratings said in a comment piece this week. Strong market performance and higher interest rates have resulted in a $3 trillion drop in unfunded pension liabilities as of June 30 compared to the peak in 2020, marking

Municipals were little changed Tuesday outside of bumps on the front end, as U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 65%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 67%, the 10-year at 66% and the 30-year at 83%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m.

Congress is back in Washington, D.C. with a busy week as the Senate launches its 2025 appropriation process and the House holds full Appropriation Committee votes on a transportation and housing spending measure and an energy bill that would see a significant boost in nuclear support. House Republicans have spent weeks advancing various spending measures

The Biden administration awarded $504 million in grants last week to a dozen tech hubs across the country to scale up the production of critical technologies and create jobs in innovative industries. The tech hubs are part of a push by the administration to accelerate domestic growth in industries such as biomanufacturing, clean energy, artificial

Municipals were firmer Monday ahead of a $9.2 billion new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 65%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 67% and the 30-year at 84%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m. EST read.

Municipals were slightly firmer, underperforming U.S. Treasuries, which saw gains up to 10 basis points on the short end, after a better-than-expected jobs report kept a Federal Reserve rate cut in September in play. Equities ended up. While the numbers still suggest a healthy labor market, “this report absolutely keeps the probability of a September

Fitch Ratings affirmed Los Angeles International Airport’s AA rating and stable outlook despite ongoing delays on its automated people mover. The airport’s AA issuer rating reflects “LAX’s superior credit characteristics, including a strong underlying air trade service area, significant operational activity supported by a diverse mix of domestic and foreign-flag carriers, favorable rate agreements with

The Illinois state comptroller reported a 55% year-over-year increase in the end-of-year general revenue fund cash balance as her office paid the state’s bills in a timely manner, a departure from recent years when the state’s unpaid bill backlogs topped $10 billion. Illinois ended the fiscal year with a $1.7 billion balance in the general

Parties in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy showed themselves to be further apart than ever before, with the Oversight Board offering little beyond the current plan’s 4% recovery for non-settling bond parties and some bond parties suggesting they should get 100% of what they say is at least an $8.5 billion claim and

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is issuing $625.4 million of second lien dedicated revenue bonds by negotiated sale July 8, which should yield an enthusiastic market response.    “As the interest on the bonds will be exempt in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, I expect strong interest from in-state buyers,” said Patrick Luby, head of Municipals,