Southeast

"It is not surprising that we have witnessed — and continue to witness — a great migration of Americans away from cities and states pursuing failed policies, with Florida serving as a refuge for freedom and sanity," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

Red state-blue state battles have complicated ESG issuance even as the muni market strives to make it an accepted asset class. The Bond Buyer's Lynne Funk, Karen Pierog, Chip Barnett and Keeley Webster discuss how it's playing out nationally and regionally.

Since November, 10-year munis have fallen 130 basis points, according to Refinitiv MMD. This has pushed ratios to near-record lows, said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

Despite the outperformance this week, and while the asset class had "a stellar December, which rounded out a very solid year," Barclays PLC strategists said the high-grade muni market has become "quite rich."

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reported that private insurance companies assumed 650,399 policies from the state's last-resort carrier in 2023.

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 $136.6 billion 2024-2026 biennium budget proposal will be debated by the state General Assembly when it reconvenes on Jan. 2.

At the ceremony, Patronis announced the State Board of Administration plans to make a sizable new purchase of Israel bonds.

The state's labor force continued to increase last month as more people entered the labor force, hitting an annual growth rate of 3.2%.

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.