News and Information from Bond Buyer

Market participants are concerned and confused about an aspect of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed municipal advisor core conduct rule that some sources are reading as allowing investment banks to provide advisory services on deals they underwrite.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed two successor emergency managers to a pair of suburban Detroit school districts under state control.

The Michigan Legislature has passed a bill giving Detroit bondholders a statutory lien and intercept on its income-tax bonds, a measure aimed at easing the city's first public market sale since the end of its high-profile bankruptcy.

Virginia terminated its ties with a toll-road developer after spending almost $300 million on the $1.4 billion project.

Since the Federal Open Market Committee stated it wanted to see further labor market improvement and have confidence inflation will return to 2% over the medium term, now is not the time to raise rates, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President & Chief Executive Officer Eric S. Rosengren said Thursday.

If incoming data show the first-quarter slowdown was "transitory," a liftoff "relatively soon" would be appropriate, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and Chief Executive Officer Loretta J. Mester said Thursday.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual Initial Jobless Claims 4/4: 282,000 4/11: 280,000 4/11: 294,000 Continuing Claims 3/28: 2.308M 4/4: 2.312M 4/4: 2.268M Housing Starts Feb.: 908,000 March: 1.040M March: 926,000 Building Permits Feb.: 1.102M March: 1.080M March: 1.039M Philly Fed Manufacturing March: 5.0 April: 6.3 April: 7.5

Taking a little longer to decide on liftoff may allow the economic picture to clear, but his backing a rate hike "will inevitably be a judgment call," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Lockhart said Thursday.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Financing authority's outstanding bonds ahead of plans to price a $195 million refunding of electric revenue bonds on April 22.

Reps. Randy Hultgren, R-Ill. and Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., have sent a bipartisan letter to House leaders urging them to reject proposals that make changes to the tax exemption for municipal bonds.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds were unchanged at mid-session, according to bond traders, as more deals came to market.

In the first competitive pricing of charter school bonds in Texas, Kipp Academy in Houston earned savings of nearly 13.5% on a $77 million issue backed by the Texas Permanent School Fund.

The Chicago Public School system is limping back to the bond market next week following reports of a federal probe and bankruptcy talk from the governor.

Rising retirement benefit costs are threatening municipal services in California and the problem will worsen short-term, according to a Manhattan Institute report.

The firm, which opened its doors in Philadelphia on April 11, 1975, is now one of the nation's leading providers of independent financial advisory services to state, local, and regional government and non-profit institutions and clients throughout the country.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $24 billion 91-day bills and $24 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

The Treasury Department said it will auction $18 billion five-year inflation-indexed bonds on Thursday, April 23.

The creditors of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority extended their forbearance to the authority by 15 days on Wednesday.

Mesirow Financial has hired Paul Sitarz as managing director of municipal funding in its Institutional Sales and Trading department. Sitarz will be working with Matt Sherwood and both will be filling the role that Eric Vandercar held.