Markets

The $68 billion deficit reported for California's budget is an eye-opening figure but the revenue trends are less dramatic when viewed over multiple years.

A hotel tax that supports the authority's bonds has recovered strongly from the pandemic, the rating agency said.

The issuer is set to come to market with general revenue bonds the week of Jan. 21, according to its investor website.

The reserve should have enough to cover bond payments for a year, according to an observer.

The Investment Company Institute reported more outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Dec. 13, with investors pulling $588 million from the funds.

The county plans to sell $2.5 billion of tax-exempt sewer revenue warrants to refund the debt issued to finance its 2013 exit from Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

The Bloomberg Municipal Index has returned 1.90% so far in December and 5.96% year-to-date, while the High-Yield Index is up 2.75% this month and 8.94% in 2023. Taxable munis are returning 3.98% in December bringing year-to-date returns to 7.83%.

The rebound in the cruise industry, which has now more than recovered all the ground it lost during the pandemic, lifted the Canaveral Port Authority's rating.

The Philadelphia-based financial advisory firm has used BVAL for several years, but once the full interpolated curve and the intraday hourly changes were released on the EMMA, PFM decided to use BVAL as its primary pricing curve.

With fears of further Fed hikes subsided, Birch Creek strategists said with "loads of cash still sitting on the sidelines, and expectations that cash will no longer earn 5%+, we believe the muni market will benefit in 2024 from a return of investors looking to allocate to the asset class."