News and Information from Bond Buyer

Government

The first legal action challenging New Jersey’s takeover of Atlantic City finances will be decided at the local level after a federal judge sent the case back to Atlantic County Superior Court.

Top-rated municipal bonds finished weaker on Monday, according to traders, as the market prepared for about $5.6 billion of new issues this week.

Indiana is looking for solutions to concerns S&P Global Ratings raised over its school bond intercept program when it placed the program on CreditWatch negative.

Tension between the Puerto Rico Oversight Board and the island's government grew Sunday when the governor rejected the board's claim to prior review of legislation.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is concerned that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed $162 billion 2018 budget contains elements that could hamper spending oversight.

A county court is scheduled to hear a petition by a Scranton, Pa., taxpayer group that alleges the city’s tripling of its local services tax is illegal.

Texas Central Rail has dropped eminent domain lawsuits due to “positive dialogue” with many landowners.

With a strong, fourth-quarter kick, bond volume in the Southwest set a second consecutive record at $83.4 billion, surpassing the 2015 total by 7.2%, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

Top-rated municipal bonds were weaker at mid-session, according to traders, as the market gets set to see about $5.6 billion of new issues hit the screens this week. The calendar is comprised of $4.1 billion of negotiated deals and $1.5 billion of competitive sales.

Municipal bond insurance took on a tough environment once again in 2016 and although the penetration rate dipped slightly, overall par amount insured was up slightly compared with 2015.

Municipal bond issuers brought a record $450.31 billion in long-term debt to market in 2016, driven by a surge in refunding volume as issuers rushed to market to take advantage of historically low rates while they still could.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher, as the three-months incurred a 0.540% high rate, up from 0.530% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.645% high rate, up from 0.620% the week before.

Healthcare and utilities municipal bond issuance grew by a combined $27 billion to 2016 from 2015.

Short-term note issuance slipped 1.5% in 2016 as continued austerity among state and local governments and attractive long-term interest rates kept the sector in a downward trend.

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

California revenues for January beat projections in the governor's proposed 2017-18 budget by $844.4 million, but year-to-date revenues still missed the mark.

Consumer expectations on inflation grew "returning to levels last seen in the summer of 2015," according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

Municipal bond market participants are returning to their desks on Monday, set to see about $5.6 billion of new issues hit the screens this week. The calendar is comprised of $4.1 billion of negotiated deals and $1.5 billion of competitive sales.