News and Information from Bond Buyer

While the new tax policies should address the state's projected deficit, rating agencies are cautious about the projected revenues and federal spending on Medicaid, which could impact Louisiana.

Fieldman, Rolapp & Co. has acquired Orem, Utah-based municipal advisor G.L. Hicks, a healthcare finance specialist.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Thursday announced the members of its 2025 advisory groups.

Data-driven local governments and other public agencies might sound like a complex subject or something difficult to attain, but that could not be further from the truth.

Among the materials for lawmakers is a new report estimating the tax exemption saves issuers $824 billion through 2035.

The muni market saw a record $507.585 billion of debt issued in 2024, up 31.8% from $385.061 billion in 2023, according to LSEG data. 

The top 10 advisors accounted for $249.421 billion of par or 59.3% of the total issuance with municipal advisors.

New York boasts four of the top 10 issuers, followed by California with two and one a piece for Florida, Massachusetts, Washington and New Jersey.

With losses expected to be measured in the tens or hundreds of billions, the municipal finance industry begins to take stock of the Los Angeles-area wildfires.

The state will try to convince the rating agency to lift its debt to AA, to match the rating others have assigned.

Munis "responded in part to a better UST session [Wednesday] but weren't in a position from a supply standpoint to attempt to match the 10-15 basis point rally in taxables," said Kim Olsan, a senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.

Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent sparred with the Senate Finance Committee over the future direction of fiscal policy in the Trump administration that will be trying to tackle major tax legislation.

It could be the year's largest unrated municipal bond deal.

The insurance market going into the Jan. 7 catastrophe already had been hit with non-renewals and cancellations -- and an overburdened state-supported insurance plan. A Morningstar analyst said the state insurance commissioner's reform strategy could have turned it around but now faces new obstacles.

OMB director nominee Russell Vought said he supports allowing the president to redirect funding away from state and local governments, bypassing the congressional appropriations process.

Because of the disaster, income tax filing deadlines for Los Angeles County residents will be delayed to October, muddying the revenue picture for the state.

The former congressman from Wisconsin saw bipartisan support Wednesday during a friendly Senate confirmation hearing.

The bonds — $824.8 million tax-exempt and $400 million taxable — follow Orlando Health's major acquisitions of hospitals in Alabama and Florida.

The Fed may make more cuts and there's a floor forming under the Treasury market, per panelists at the Executives' Club of Chicago's Annual Economic Outlook.

Municipals are underperforming USTs month-to-date, with the Bloomberg Municipal Index showing losses of 1.02% versus 0.92% for USTs as of Tuesday, but both are outperforming losses in corporates that are seeing 1.23% losses in January.