News and Information from Bond Buyer

Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner has been named 2016 financial literacy committee chairman for the National Association of State Treasurers.

Issuers from New York and Texas brought the only noteworthy deals hitting screens Tuesday. Market participants will be awaiting other larger deals from issuers in Hawaii and Texas on Wednesday and there is a chance that the market could finally see the $875 million of general obligation bonds from Chicago Board of Education, as CPS Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool said on Tuesday at a press conference that the deal will price on Wednesday.

The House Natural Resources Committee will “very soon” begin forming legislation designed to aid Puerto Rico following a hearing one of its panels held on Tuesday on the need for a federal oversight authority in the commonwealth, said committee chair Rob Bishop, R-Utah.

Hearings begin Thursday on Michigan legislation that paves the way for Gov. Rick Snyder’s restructuring plan for the debt-laden Detroit Public Schools.

Illinois is on pace to close out the fiscal year with a $10 billion to $12 billion backlog of unpaid bills as the state moves into its eighth month without a budget, state comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger said.

A Moody's Investors Service report evaluates the risks and benefits of public and private financing amid a surge in new U.S. stadiums targeting professional football and soccer.

Registration has begun for the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) 2016 Regional Compliance Outreach Programs for Broker-Dealers that will take place in New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

The House late Monday passed a bill that would treat investment grade and readily marketable municipal securities as high quality liquid assets under a liquidity rule banking regulators adopted in 2014. The Senate is expected to begin considering a companion bill in the near future.

Monetary policy should be based on fundamentals and should not overreact to financial market volatility, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President and Chief Executive Officer Esther L. George, and conditions should warrant further rate hikes.

Munis were stronger at midday on Tuesday, as yields on some maturities were one to three basis points lower, according to traders.

Relieving the congestion on urban highways in Texas will be a continual process that requires additional funding sources, planners say.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $55 billion of four-week bills at a 0.270% high yield, a price of 99.979000.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $18 billion of 364-day bills at a 0.530% high yield, a price of 99.464111

While federal aid to New York City dropped about $1 billion over five years, the total is flat aside from stimulus and Hurricane Sandy funding, said the Independent Budget Office.

The New York City Transitional Finance Authority intends to sell $1 billion in future tax secured subordinate bonds on Feb. 9, city officials announced.

Market participants are eager for more supply, after the only large deal from Monday was easily digested. Issuers from New York and Texas will lead the way Tuesday.

The nation's leading bond counsel firm will open its Houston office with five attorneys from two prominent firms in the Bayou City.

New York City business activity "expanded at the slowest pace in four months amid more intense global financial market turbulence," in January, as the current business conditions index fell to 54.6, from 62.0 in December, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Tuesday, indicated.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer discusses improving the city’s pension system with Bond Buyer senior Northeast reporter Paul Burton. Stringer also examines the effect of the proposed state budget on the city and reminisces about his cousin, the late Congresswoman Bella Abzug.

Feb. 2, 2016 Southwest: Plain/Insured GO Yield Curve* State Ratings One-Year Five-Year 10-Year 30-Year Arizona Aa3/AA+/NR 0.45 1.13 1.93 2.99 Arkansas Aa1/AA/NR 0.42 1.07 1.8 2.84 Colorado Aa1/AA/NR 0.42 1.11 1.89 2.97 Kansas Aa2/AA/NR 0.4 1.11 1.89 2.93 New Mexico Aaa/AA+/NR 0.4 1.05 1.8 2.87 Oklahoma Aa2/AA+/AA+ 0.44 1.13 1.91 2.97 Texas Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.42 1.08 1.85 2.93 Utah Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.4 0.99 1.7 2.75