Commentary

There are many variables that will affect municipal credits before a successful coronavirus vaccine is approved, produced and distributed, and the economic effects of the virus-induced downturn begin to turn around.

How “progressive” the new leadership decides to act will affect what roles the Fed will need to assume and support. Greater transparency and responsiveness to congressional leadership will be primary among them

It turns out that all tax-exempt munis exhibit negative convexity near par, even if they are not callable. The driver of this phenomenon is the so-called de minimis tax effect.

A painful reality of the current environment is that headcount is a target for cost reduction despite that demands have never been greater — compliance, client demands and the need to access and leverage data and information to avoid a competitive disadvantage.

For more than 80 years, soliciting investors has been recognized by federal securities regulators as broker-dealer activity, so the SEC’s action on municipal advisors breaks significant new ground. It also sets a dangerous precedent.

As devastating as natural disasters can be, their impact to municipal bond prices has been muted.

A larger green bond market will help the municipal market and state and local governments.

A localized circular economy with sustainable solutions can help keep state and local government budgets sustainable.

The conventional wisdom has been that clients should keep six to 12 months of living expenses in cash in case of job loss or another unexpected event. While that is sound advice, in the age of COVID-19, this may no longer be enough.

Congressional inability to agree on further stimulus aid means issuers are unlikely to see budgetary relief that would free up dollars for infrastructure at least until after the November election.