Gov. Rick Perry has replaced chairman Paul Hudson with fellow Public Utility Commission member Barry Smitherman, while keeping Hudson on the three-member panel that regulates utilities in the state. Perry appointed Smitherman to the panel in April 2004. Smitherman has nearly two decades in public banking and legal positions, andalso served as assistant district attorney in Harris County. The Bond Buyer reported in 2002 that Bank One fired Smitherman for failing to get approval before submitting an opinion piece to the Houston Chronicle. Smitherman and PUC board member Julie Parsley voted down a proposal by Hudson in 2006 designed to save millions of Texans about $17 per month on their electric bills. The plan’s legality was questionable and conveyed the wrong message to electric markets, Smitherman and Parsley said at the time.
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While the municipal market barely budged following the Fed's decision to cut rates 50 basis points, Thursday saw muni yields rise up to two basis points, depending on the scale, but still lagged the weakness in USTs. LSEG Lipper reported $716 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds.
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The Fed's 50 basis point cut surprised many, as a looming federal election and all the uncertainty that brings complicates efforts at forecasting.
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The product is designed to give SOLVE's customers visibility into "next-trade" pricing data for more than 900,000 munis.
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After getting positive outlooks from three rating agencies since 2023, Oklahoma received its first upgrade.
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The agency cited a sustained commitment to healthy reserves and structural balance.
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The plan involves building modern infrastructure and streamlining government operations and delivery of services.
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