News and Information from Bond Buyer

Government

Bonds issued for a P3 highway project in Indiana were downgraded to junk following construction delays and payment disputes among contractors.

Municipal bonds ended Monday a tad weaker, traders said, as the market waited for the week’s new issuance to start hitting screens on Tuesday.

A CDC warning advising pregnant women against traveling to a south Florida neighborhood because of Zika is a negative credit factor for both Miami and Miami-Dade County, said Moody's Investors Service.

Financial services technology provider Ipreo has launched a new municipal bond platform aimed at giving the company's customers a much more detailed look at how and to whom their bonds are selling.

Chicago’s proposal to rescue its municipal pension fund from looming insolvency with a new water/sewer tax is a positive step that if finalized could stabilize the city’s rating, S&P Global Ratings said.

Virginia transportation officials plan to select a private partner by fall for the $2 billion I-66 toll lane project.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday described an economic plan that he said would create “the biggest tax revolution since the Reagan tax reform” and “cut regulations massively.”

Atlantic City is grappling with another casino closure as it scrambles to avoid a state takeover.

As municipal bond traders are waiting for the week's new issuance to start hitting screens on Tuesday, munis are weaker with yields on some top-quality munis up by as many as two basis points, traders said.

Experts in Kansas government say the defeats of many of Gov. Sam Brownback’s allies in the GOP primary showed that moderates have had enough of his policies of cutting taxes while reducing spending on state services.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher, as the three-months incurred a 0.305% high rate, up from 0.285% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.440% high rate, up from 0.395% the week before.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $55 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

Consumers decreased their expectations for three-year inflation while their projections for one year out held steady, according to the July Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

WASHINGTON – Two lawyers specializing in Indian tribal financing agree that tribal governments need to be put on a par with state and local governments for tax-exempt bonds, but they differ on whether Congress will pass legislation that would establish that parity.

Noting he is not in a hurry to raise interest rates, Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell said in an interview that below-target inflation, the Federal Open Market Committee "can be patient," according to a published report.

The Federal Reserve's Labor Market Conditions Index, a compilation of 19 labor market measures, rose to positive 1.0 in July from a revised negative 0.1 in June, first reported as negative 1.9.

Municipal bond traders are set for the start of a new week, with expected issuance totaling about $7.86 billion, down from the $10.55 billion that hit the market last week.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) gained to 128.28 in July from a downwardly revised 127.89 in June, and is up 1.6% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.