News and Information from Bond Buyer

The congressional task force on Puerto Rico announced Tuesday that it is extending to Oct. 14 its deadline for interested stakeholders to submit recommendations on how to promote economic growth within the commonwealth.

Bonds for three private prisons in Texas suffered downgrades well below junk-bond status from S&P Global Ratings after the U.S. Department of Justice announced plans to discontinue their use.

A coalition of more than 100 businesses penned a letter to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., supporting his proposed online sales tax bill that would be based on “hybrid origin-sourcing,” while a tax policy expert said the draft would not quell the debate on how to tax Internet business.

Top-rated municipal bonds finished stronger Tuesday, according to traders, who will see the first deals on the week's $5.5 billion new issue calendar hit the market on Wednesday.

Wisconsin’s bigger municipalities are faring better fiscally than their smaller neighbors, says a report from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

The Ramapo Local Development Corp. and three individuals facing Securities and Exchange Commission securities fraud charges are asking a federal judge to dismiss the SEC's complaint, claiming, among other things, that no one was hurt.

The Airport Commission of the City and County of San Francisco is teeing up a nearly $900 million dollar bond deal.

Freight backlogs are biggest potential setback to U.S. ports from South Korean shipping bankruptcy.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $40 billion of four-week bills at a 0.250% high yield, a price of 99.980556.

In an effort to pull in more revenue for New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie revoked a nearly 40-year tax agreement with neighboring Pennsylvania.

A bill introduced in the Senate by Republicans would put Indian tribal governments more on a par with state and local governments for bond financings, giving them better access to capital to support infrastructure and local economic development.

Top-rated municipal bonds were mostly unchanged at mid-session, according to traders, as yields at the 2017 maturity and back end of the curve were steady although several yields in-between were as many as four basis points higher ahead of this week's $5.5 billion new issue calendar.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.335% high rate, unchanged from 0.335% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.470% high rate, down from 0.480% the week before.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual ISM Non-Manufacturing July: 55.5 Aug.: 55.0 Aug.: 51.4

The Federal Reserve's Labor Market Conditions Index, a compilation of 19 labor market measures, fell to negative 0.7 in August from a revised positive 1.3 in July, first reported as positive 1.0.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) fell to 128.02 in August from an upwardly revised 128.44 in July, and is up 0.8% from a year ago, the group announced Tuesday.

The U.S. services sector dropped in August as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 51.4 in the month, compared to 55.5 in July, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday.

Municipal bond traders are returning to their desks on Tuesday after the Labor Day weekend to see a good-sized new issue slate totaling about $5.5 billion.

The Bond Buyer’s Paul Burton and Andrew Coen in New York, and Yvette Shields in Chicago discuss how the Chicago Public Schools became such a mess in the capital markets, why small liberal arts colleges are struggling and the raging controversy over charter schools that has also been fodder for comedian John Oliver.