Markets

The SEC wants a Puerto Rico federal court to agree that Jose Ramirez, a former UBS Puerto Rico employee, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in closed-end funds with large investments in Puerto Rico bonds.

The past 20 years have seen a transformation in the municipal market, marked by technological advances, tougher regulation and an increase in credit quality concerns.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, rose seven basis points to 4.32% in the latest week from 4.25% in the previous week.

Chicago is a standout as the "worst" among its big city peers in key pension system measurements, according to a new S&P Global Ratings pension report.

Former Washington State Treasurer Jim McIntire has joined Star Mountain Capital, a lower middle-market asset management firm, as a strategic advisor serving public pensions and other institutional investors.

OppenheimerFunds will acquire Seattle fund manager SNW Asset Management to expand its high-quality municipal bond offerings.

Alexandra Lebenthal has sold a 49% stake in Lebenthal & Co., an iconic firm in in the municipal market, to South Street Securities.

President Donald Trump’s plan to rely on private prisons to house federal inmates and immigration detainees is reviving interest in the high-yield bonds that financed the lockups.

Investors are mindful of the lessons of Puerto Rico’s financial distress as they chase higher yields and the benefits of interest payments that aren’t taxable by the federal government or by any U.S. state or municipality.

In the week ended March 2, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index fell one basis point to 4.25% from 4.26% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.