Texas

Conference sponsorships targeting bond firms led Mayor John Whitmire to call for a probe into actions by Controller Chris Hollins, who denied any wrongdoing.

Houston and other Texas cities face financial pressure caused by weather disasters, public safety salaries and pensions, or capped property tax collections.

The Dallas-based financial services firm, which launched a public finance business in May, announced a staff expansion.

The Texas city expects to finance 72% of the expansion program, which includes an arrivals and departures hall, with general airport revenue bonds.

Litigation in Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah could determine bond issuance, culpability for defaults, or the constitutionality of underwriter bans.

September volume came in over $44 billion leading volume year-to-date to hit more than $380 billion, just shy of 2023's full-year total issuance.

Ramirez & Co. continues growth plans with the addition of bankers in Texas, Florida and New York.

Dan Callahan joined UMB Bank as a senior vice president and public finance banker.

They new hires will serve various functions in different regions of the country.

Water agencies in Texas, Oklahoma, and Denver are selling a combined nearly $2 billion of triple-A-rated bonds this week.

"Should September's positive returns hold as we expect, it would mark the fourth consecutive month of positive total returns — the first such period since the five-month period spanning from March through July 2021," BofA strategists Yingchen Li and Ian Rogow said.

The city of Clyde defaulted in August and recently revealed it used debt proceeds for debt payments in a manner that "disguised the deficit cash flow."

Up to $182 million of bonds will be issued by a city of Frisco entity to renovate Toyota Stadium, home to Major League Soccer's FC Dallas.

A negative outlook for the city's AA rating by Fitch Ratings follows similar action taken by S&P Global Ratings in July.

The passage of a $11 billion plan, which aims to fully fund police and fire pensions in 30 years, comes as the retirement system is pushing its own plan in court.

Municipals lagged the UST moves again, cheapening ratios and creating a valuable entry point for investors looking for compelling taxable equivalent yields, particularly 10-years and out.

Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital plans to sell about $222 million of tax-exempt, fixed-rate revenue bonds this week.

Stagnant per-pupil state funding amid rising costs led to budget deficits, lower reserves, and ballot proposals to raise property tax rates for some districts.

Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows as investors added $956 million to funds after $1.047 billion of inflows the week prior, according to LSEG Lipper.

The Investment Company Institute reported more than $1.3 billion of inflows into muni mutual funds. The last time inflows topped $1 billion, per ICI data, was for the week ending Feb. 7. LSEG Lipper has reported weeks with $1 billion plus inflows on July 31 and May 8.