News and Information from Bond Buyer

Moody's says the South Carolina Public Service Authority’s delay on rates is a credit negative.

Public safety threatened by removal of federal flood plain rule, engineer group warns.

A big drop-off in Texas and a decline in refundings took a bite out of the municipal bond business in the Southwest.

The makeup and mission of the IRS advisory committee has changed.

Puerto Rico’s July revenues were above budget partly because of unexpectedly high non-resident withholding inflow.

Top quality municipal bonds were stronger at mid-session, according to traders, ahead of this week’s $4 billion new issue calendar.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed.

State officials say they won't permit unlimited short-term borrowing.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $30 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

More individuals looked for jobs, but, when extended, wage offers were lower, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s July first released labor market survey.

The municipal bond market is looking at a smaller than average bond calendar this week, which will be dominated by the short-term note sector.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July decreased to negative 0.01 from positive 0.16 in June, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) fell to negative 0.05 from positive 0.09 in June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

The state of Texas is riding into the market this week with the biggest short-term deal of the year.

The development sector grew by 36% and public facilities climbed by 11%, making them the sectors that grew by the largest percentage in the first half of the year. The sectors with the biggest declines were electric power at 55% and utilities at 23%.

The municipal market got off to a fast start in terms of issuance this year, picking up in January right where it left off from 2016’s record-setting totals. However, the pace of issuance has since slowed, leaving 2017 first-half volume lagging last year's levels.

Short-term note issuance rose less than 5% in the first half of 2017 as municipalities relies less on cash flow needs.

Although market conditions and a still relatively low interest rate environment continue to hamper the bond insurance industry, there continue to be encouraging signs including a slight uptick in the insurance penetration rate.

The simultaneous drop in Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate and employment reflects the flight of workers from the island.

Some see the collapse of President Trump’s infrastructure council as good for municipal bonds.

The $560 million deal is expected to sell later this month.