Oliver Renick

Patton Boggs LLP has continued to expand its New York team with the hiring of Pamela Robertson, a former partner at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.

Siebert Brandford Shank and Co. LLC, the No. 14 senior manager of bond issues by par amount in 2012, appointed recent New York City mayoral candidate and former comptroller Bill Thompson as chief administrative officer and senior managing director.

Housing Finance Agencies are enjoying their highest ratings ever and aren't facing immediate downgrades even as loan delinquencies rise.

Ambac Financial Group, the bond insurer that emerged from bankruptcy this year, reported $231 million of profit in the three months ended Sept. 30, up 46% from $158 million last year.

MBIA Inc. said its adjusted pre-tax loss widened to $188 million in the third quarter, from $118 million a year earlier and a $160 million loss in the second quarter.

Assured Guaranty, the biggest municipal bond insurer, reported a 30% decline in the third quarter profit due to lower scheduled net earned premiums.

In a faltering economic environment where philanthropy often falls short, museums and memorials are looking to innovative bond structures and star-studded fundraising campaigns to finance their projects.

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, the top bond counsel firm, is in merger talks with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. The move could stretch Orrick's lead in the public finance practice even further.

Washington, D.C.-based law firm Patton Boggs LLP created a public finance team based around four hires from Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.

Top-10 bond counsel Nixon Peabody LLP promoted two public finance attorneys to the role of counsel.

A Wisconsin appellate court Thursday affirmed the validity of Ambac Assurance Corporation’s segregated policy account, the bond insurer said in a statement.

Bond insurers such as MBIA's National Public Finance Guarantee and Assured Guaranty are set to bolster their capital positions on a continuing wave of municipal refundings of guaranteed bonds.

Municipal bonds gained Tuesday as traders, buoyed by economic data, rode out the first part of the week's wave of new issues.

Municipal bonds gained through Tuesday afternoon as traders in the tax-exempt market received the first of a wave of new deals expected in the next month.

Tax-exempt municipal bond traders got a boost Tuesday morning as U.S. Treasuries gained after the government announced economic data.

The market for tax-exempt munis saw a steady start to the week Monday as traders prepared for a fair amount of incoming deals over the next week, as well as government economic data.

Traders in the tax-free municipal market moved slowly Monday, preparing for a week of solid new issue volume as prices cheapened ahead of $12.4 billion in deals expected in the next 30 days.

The tax-exempt muni market saw a quiet start to the week Monday morning as traders prepared for a fair amount of incoming deals over the next week.

Puerto Rico's efforts to stave off a growing financial crisis could turn its bonds into junk-rated debt, BlackRock's municipal bonds group said Thursday.

Bond insurers are poised to withstand the possible fallout from ratings downgrades or defaults on the industry's $16 billion of Puerto Rico bond exposure.