Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve
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The new-issue calendar for the holiday-shortened week is $4.98 billion, with $3.633 billion of negotiated deals and $1.347 billion of competitive loans.
February 18 -
The Federal Reserve formally adopted tough, sweeping restrictions on officials’ investing and trading, aiming to prevent a repeat of the ethics scandal that engulfed the U.S. central bank last year.
February 18 -
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said she supports raising interest rates next month and tightening policy at a faster pace if needed to curb inflation.
February 17 -
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said bringing down inflation may require the central bank to overshoot a neutral target interest rate, which he sees as about 2%.
February 17 -
Rates could go up faster than they did in 2015 if predictions for the economy hold, minutes from the FOMC said, but the release offered no hints as to whether a 50 basis point liftoff would be considered.
February 16 -
Municipal bonds' relative value has increased dramatically as rates have risen and credit fundamentals have improved, with municipal-to-Treasury ratios now on par with their five-year averages.
February 15 -
Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee skipped its scheduled vote on five Federal Reserve appointees, preventing a quorum. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed concerns raised about nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin, saying she wants the Fed to become an “ideological left-wing activist body” that interferes with private-sector credit decisions.
February 15 -
From fund flows to Fed policy, investing in munis requires a more thoughtful strategy.
February 15 -
GOP lawmakers are considering a plan by Sen. Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, to boycott Tuesday’s committee votes on Raskin and President Biden’s four other Federal Reserve nominees. Such a move would deny Democrats a quorum to move forward.
February 15 -
A crucial centrist vote among Democrats, the Montana lawmaker and Senate Banking Committee member predicts the full chamber will support Raskin's nomination for vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board if she advances out of committee on Tuesday.
February 14 -
Dennis Gingold, co-founder of the Reserve Trust company, says Republican allegations that central bank nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin behaved unethically in interacting with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City while serving on the company's board are “completely false.”
February 13 -
Municipal yields rose up to 10 basis points on the short end, playing catch up to the volatility of Treasuries' moves on Thursday. Rising UST rates will inevitably be more significant for munis until they settle into more stable levels.
February 11 -
In an interview on Thursday, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard discussed his outlook for monetary policy following a report showing surging consumer prices.
February 11 -
Refinitiv Lipper reported the first inflows into municipal bond mutual funds at $216 million after three weeks of large outflows while high-yield saw small outflows. Exchange-traded funds reported $755 million of inflows.
February 10 -
Sarah Bloom Raskin tried again Wednesday to assuage Republicans’ concerns about her hawkish stances on mitigating climate risks ahead of a vote on her nomination to be Wall Street’s top bank regulator.
February 10 -
Markets were somewhat comforted by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic’s comments suggesting the Fed will not be as aggressive as the markets suspect.
February 9 -
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced Susan Collins, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, will become its next president effective July 1.
February 9 -
The state of Washington sold $743 million of general obligation bonds in the competitive market at similar spreads to its November sale while some issuers have moved to the day-to-day calendar.
February 8 -
Municipal to UST ratios hit highs earlier in the week, creating entry points for buyers to return to the market even as ratios fell on the week. The primary will see a smaller calendar at $5.4 billion.
February 4 -
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said investors need to brace for the Federal Reserve to potentially raise interest rates at all seven remaining policy meetings this year and even for it to hike by more than a quarter point in one go.
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