Finance

Ferguson regained its investment grade issuer rating by rebuilding its balance sheet while meeting federal consent decree mandates to overhaul police and court tactics.

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.

The city council's budget and finance committee approved the increase and now the matter is headed to the full council.

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)

The high-grade muni scales saw cuts of up to four basis points in a continued selloff Monday as the market faces a robust slate of new issues.

Dan Hynes, who was a deputy governor in J.B. Pritzker's administration, will work in public finance and corporate investment banking at Jefferies.

Bond ratings and other positive news of late could merely paper over warning signs of another fiscal cliff.

Month-to-date returns for municipals are in the red with the Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices municipal index returning -0.12%, high-yield at -0.15% and taxables at -0.32%.

U.S. Treasuries sold off by double digits while municipals cut levels by one to three basis points. Refinitiv Lipper reported another $1.55 billion of inflows for the 29th consecutive week.

The city's high leverage drew a two-notch Moody's downgrade ahead of a pension obligation bond deal to pay the unfunded liabilities of its public safety plans.

Both S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service lifted their outlooks, citing a rebound from pandemic-driven budget pressures.

Making the Federal Reserve's Municipal Liquidity Facility a permanent emergency lending program would be “valuable and forward thinking," Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden told a House subcommittee.

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

Fitch cited the state's stronger-than-anticipated rebound from the pandemic's lows in revising the outlook on its AA-plus rating from negative.

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.

Morgan Fahy has joined BAM’s capital markets team from Citigroup.

Without the primary in play and a mostly muted secondary, triple-A yield curves were little changed, coming nowhere near the moves in UST with the 10- and 30-year falling five and six basis points as equities saw their worst day since May.

The commowealth is flush with cash but still managing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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