Chip Barnett

About 84% of minority- and women-owned business enterprises still do not have access to city government spending, according to the latest report.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency lifted its outlook to positive before Lee County sold bonds for the Southwest Florida International Airport.

Geoffrey Buswick and Todd Kanaster of S&P Global Ratings, talk with Chip Barnett about all things cryptocurrency. They look at why municipalities are getting into blockchain technology and crypto. What are the risks and rewards?

While move-outs still outpace move-ins, the rate at which people are leaving has slowed and returned to near pre-pandemic patterns. A return by workers to offices is also rising, but occupancy in the city remains lower than almost all major metropolitan areas in the U.S. except for San Jose and San Francisco in California.

The lion's share of the deal is taxable, with a $20 million tax-exempt new money series; proceeds from the taxables will refund outstanding debt.

The Local Government Commission voted to approve the city financing to extend utilities into annexed areas, as well as other deals around the state.

With a lot of cash still needing to be put to work, the Investment Company Institute showed another large week of inflows at $1.814 billion.

KeyBanc Capital Markets priced tax-exempt bonds that will fund more than 300 units in Clayton County, Georgia, with the help of a Fannie Mae finance program.

Municipals have not tracked directly with the UST moves, where the 10- and 30-year UST has risen 24 and 26 basis points, respectively, from Wednesday. Municipals have seen yields rise by 16 and 11 basis points.

Chris Johns and JT Thompson, portfolio managers at the Aquila Group of Funds talk about the possible return of a BABs-like program and if it’s good or bad news for the tax-exempt bond market. They also discuss infrastructure, tax-exempt advance refundings and monetary policy. (21 minutes)

Goldman Sachs Asset Management, BlackRock, Lord Abbett, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Vanguard have partnered with Loop Capital and Siebert Williams Shank to send a survey to issuers on racial equity and inclusion.

William Estes has overseen multibillion-dollar design-build and infrastructure developments for government agencies in New York.

Municipals continue to stay in their own lane. ICI reported $1.4 billion of inflows in the 28th consecutive week.

Florida's long coastline, low elevation and susceptibility to severe weather events increase its environmental risks, according to an S&P Global Ratings report.

Data released Tuesday reflected a murky picture on the strength of the economy, but the market’s eyes were fixed on the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting in Washington, D.C.

“A year after two devastating hurricanes, Calcasieu Parish is struggling to rebuild because FEMA works at the pace of a snail,” says Treasurer John Schroder.

Municipals have been distracted by the robust primary market and that trend will continue next week when another large new-issue calendar greets investors.

Refinitiv Lipper reported $1.3 billion of inflows and an increase in high-yield flows, marking the 28th consecutive week the fund complex saw inflows.

While falling to the lowest amount of inflows since June 2, the total for the year according to ICI at $72 billion, is still on pace to come close to or break the record, $93.2 billion, hit in 2019.

The “tool kit” legislation expands powers of the Local Government Commission, including a last-resort legal process for voluntary or involuntary dissolution.