Washington

Raymond James' 10 hires include six senior bankers and an entire Citi public finance team focused on California.

Washington state lawmakers approved a $14.6 billion two-year transportation budget, a $1 billion increase.

"I think we are starting toward higher volume," said Raul Amezcua, senior director at Samuel A. Ramirez & Co.

Moody's Investors Service cited thinning operating performance for the downward outlook revision.

After the year-end rally, "2024 bond investors have been reluctant buyers, prices creeping lower perhaps until the data and the Fed's next steps are more clear," said Matt Fabian, partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

Growing new-issue supply is "adding to bidders' 'wait-and-see' mentality with a variety of credits coming to market at favorable spreads," said FHN Financial's Kim Olsan. Next week's calendar hits $8.4 billion.

Opponents of the state's capital gains tax will turn their efforts to a repeal ballot initiative following rejection by the high court.

S&P's outlook revision to positive means there is a one-in-three chance the state could have its AA-plus rating upgraded to AAA over the next two years.

Three districts are under Washington's state fiscal oversight and the largest, Marysville School District, took a multi-notch Moody's bond rating downgrade.

The muni market saw $379.992 billion of debt issued in 2023, only $11.076 billion less than the lackluster $391.068 billion seen in 2022.

The stars are starting to align for the long-awaited bridge replacement which received a $600 million federal grant toward the project expected to cost up to $7.5 billion.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state would use better-than-expected carbon-pricing revenues to accelerate the state's climate change efforts.

The downgrade of Issaquah School District 411 to Aa1 affects $670 million in debt.

The state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a request to hear arguments seeking to overturn a capital gains tax expected to bring in $500 million annually.

California and Washington sold four large refunding GO deals in the competitive market while several deals of size priced in the negotiated market led by a $650 million for Arizona's Salt River Project. A constructive secondary led yields to fall three to five basis points.

October's total volume rose 29.3% to $37.156 billion in 661 issues from $28.738 billion in 614 issues a year earlier. New-money grew more than 30% while refundings were up by nearly 75%.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $1.2 billion.

Municipal bond issuance in the Far West was down 2.3% in a first half that saw volume drop 17.1% nationally.

July's total volume was $25.939 billion in 542 issues, down from $28.258 billion in 619 issues a year earlier, the smallest percentage drop in monthly issuance year-over-year in 2023, according to Refinitiv data.

The offered side "has continued to pack the primary market with value to manage their (and the market's) potential downside if disruption did occur; this also helps the context for muni buyers headed into the Fed," said Matt Fabian, partner at Municipal Market Analytics.