News and Information from Bond Buyer

The future of key policies and upcoming budget battle tactics are taking shape based on several leadership changes and announcements in recent days.

The face amount of munis outstanding rose to $4.171 trillion, a 0.8% increase from Q2 2024 and 2.9% from Q3 2023, according to the latest Fed data.

Border cities like San Diego have obvious concerns about the impact of a trade war, but the ripples would extend into the South and Midwest, analysts say.

Something less than $400 million of the bonds will be taxable bonds.

Muni mutual funds saw outflows after 23 weeks of inflows as LSEG Lipper reported investors pulled $316.2 million for the week ending Dec. 11. High-yield municipal bond funds, though, saw inflows of $192.3 million.

The continued delay in resolving the case raises constitutional concerns, a bondholder attorney said.

The MSRB is looking for industry input regarding proposed rules changes for Rules G-17, G-32 and G-47.

Most on the Street expect issuance to come in around $500 billion, but a few think volume will be much higher, primarily because of potential changes to the tax exemption. Most firms expect refunding volumes to also grow in 2025.

Brad Briner said the state may need to issue short-term debt in the near future to pay for Hurricane Helene expenses.

Pressing issues include market reactions to a second Trump administration, increased oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission and more.

Municipal investors are more focused on the final new-issues coming down the pike and repositioning books as 2024 heads to a close. ICI reported another week of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds.

Operator ports, which rely on shipping volume for revenue, are more exposed to trade policy shifts than landlord ports, analysts said.

The lowest-rated municipalities in the state are benefitting the most from current economic tailwinds, Moody's reports.

Washington D.C. is lobbying Congress for an extra $47 million in expenses for the upcoming inauguration of President Trump while also raising concerns about the effects of debt ceiling squabbles on the city's credit rating.

Wednesday marks the 10-year anniversary of Detroit's exit from bankruptcy. Its Chapter 9 declaration in 2013 was the largest municipal bankruptcy in the U.S.

The top five bond financings came in above $5 billion.

Suffolk's improved finances won the county its third rating upgrade this year.

"With strong demand, rate cuts and favorable technicals, the muni market — outside of an unexpected shock — is set up to perform well over the next couple of months," said Daryl Clements, a municipal portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.

California's high-speed train has become one of the nation's most politicized infrastructure projects.

Calling it a "tragedy" for residents, without a negotiated setllement resolution could be years away, mediators said.