Finance

Eurostar veteran Nicolas Petrovic will oversee the Florida system while Mike Reininger will focus exclusively on Brightline West.

Moody's Ratings downgraded Fridley Independent School District three notches, to Ba3 from Baa3, and placed its bond ratings under review for downgrade.

"The bond market breathed a sigh of relief this morning as the CPI inflation numbers came in a tad weaker than expected," said John Kerschner, global head of securitised products and portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.

The rating agency lifted the state's general obligation and other ratings by a notch, citing well-established and prudent governance practices.

Maryland is currently battling federal job losses and string of financial challenges but is starting the new year with a new triple-A rating on its general obligation bonds complete with a stable outlook.

Despite the quiet start to the week for munis, all financial markets may feel a "heightened level of risk for rate volatility over the next few days," said Tim Iltz, a fixed income credit and market analyst at HJ Sims.

"With decent job growth in December and a downtick in the federal funds rate, the Federal Reserve will likely hold the federal funds rate steady at [its] next decision in late January," said Comerica Bank Chief Economist Bill Adams.

Munichain says its product will simplify and vastly improve the ordering process.

Average trade size continued to decline in 2025, "consistent with a market that is becoming increasingly more electronic," the MSRB said.

Los Angeles plans to price $86 million in bonds off its Proposition HHH bond measure, closing out the $1.2 billion GO authorization from 2016.

Munis are off to a "hot start" this year, said Jeremy Holtz, a portfolio manager at Income Research + Management.

In this third of a three-part 2026 municipal bond outlook series, Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton explains how another year of heavy supply, surging ETF and SMA assets, climate and cyber risk, and growing use of bond insurance will drive muni market structure and strategy for both sell-side and buy-side stakeholders.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo will lead underwriting for $1.8 billion of sales tax and revenue bonds issued through the Kansas Development Finance Authority.

The Nashville Metropolitan Airport Authority is issuing municipal bonds to finance upgrades to an airport bulging at the seams after rapid traffic growth.

Surprisingly, the expected surge in net supply last year did not elicit a major repricing in the muni market, said Pat Luby, head of municipal strategy at CreditSights.

Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton, in the second installment of his three-part 2026 outlook series, maps out quality-centric portfolio shifts, barbell and long-end strategies, and sector tilts across hospitals, higher education and housing as record supply and net inflows drive the muni market.

Confidence in the muni market is "well placed," said Matt Fabian, president of Municipal Market Analytics.

In the first of his three-part 2026 municipal outlook series, Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton forecasts for sub-5% returns, continued demand, possibly more curve steepening as the Fed eases slowly, the economy skirts recession, and AI, tariffs and midterm politics potentially reshaping risks across public finance sectors.

Improved risk sentiment after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro helped pull investors into all markets and munis are a "beneficiary" of that shift, said James Pruskowski, an investor and market strategist.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said on CNBC that both sides of the central bank's dual mandate show signs of imbalance, with the labor market appearing more vulnerable.