News and Information from Bond Buyer

Modest gains in health-care prices have kept inflation levels low, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter, released Monday.

A rate hike should be appropriate “in the near future,” said Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Rob Kaplan.

The holiday shopping season begins in earnest this week as municipal bond issuers offer buyers a slew of new tax-exempt deals as they rush to beat possible changes to the tax code for 2018.

The municipal bond market this week will keep an eye on the building new issue calendar as traders wait for the U.S. Senate to vote on a tax reform proposal which could come as early as Thursday.

The Treasury Department Monday auctioned $26 billion of two-year notes with a 1 3/4% coupon at a 1.765% yield, a price of 99.970650.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $45 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

Gov. Mary Fallin said the state should not wait until the February opening of the regular legislative session to repair its budget.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, “continued to expand in November.”

The rush to market is set to begin as the municipal bond market will see a hefty new issue slate for the upcoming week at a time of year when it is usually rather sleepy.

Thomas Hamilton, Scott Jackson and Jay Nolan will join the nascent board that will intervene in and assist with municipal distress cases.

The Badger state is joining the list of issuers moving up refunding deals that are under threat from tax reform.

More than half of the $44 billion is for disaster relief administered through FEMA and the SBA.

The rush to market ahead of tax reform is set to begin, as a $11.743 billion new issue slate looms for the upcoming week.

Cook County will cut jobs and lay off some workers to plug the budget hole.

Contract saves the city about $9 million by locking in a more favorable rate with Great Lakes Water Authority.

The municipal bond market is getting set for the Thanksgiving holiday as it looks ahead to next week’s $11.73 billion new issue calendar.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday it will auction $42 billion 91-day bills and $36 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

Regional consolidation would boost business investments and fend off needless duplication and competition, a fiscal watchdog said.

The University of Michigan's final November consumer sentiment index reading was 98.5, compared to the preliminary November 97.8 and the final October 100.7, according to market sources.

Halting tax-exempt advance refundings at the end of the year, as proposed by both pending tax bills, would increase issuers’ costs, deprive them of savings for new projects, and push some to enter into swaps that could increase their risk.