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Government

Bond insurers Assured Guaranty and MBIA may be among the beneficiaries after a federal judge ruled Puerto Rico's Recovery Act was unconstitutional, according to analysts at BTIG LLC.

Four congressional Democrats and Republicans are preparing to send a letter signed by almost 300 colleagues that urges House leaders enact multiyear transportation funding legislation before May 31 when the current law expires.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds on Tuesday closed weaker yet again, traders said, as yields on some top-rated munis increased by as much as seven basis points. The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation rose above the psychologically important 2% level, according to the Municipal Market data's triple-A scale.

The Board of Trustees for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system takes competitive bids Wednesday on $78 million of new money and refunding bonds.

Two former Senators who were instrumental in tax reform in 1986 said reform should be comprehensive and presidential commitment is very helpful.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said its ratings on Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA; CCC/Watch Neg) and Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA; senior-lien rating: BB-minus/Negative) are unaffected by a court ruling that the Puerto Rico Public Corporations Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act is unconstitutional.

California's general fund tax revenues are coming in $1 billion to $2 billion over the already healthy projections in Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget, according to a new report from the state's Legislative Analyst's Office.

The Internal Revenue Service has announced how many qualified zone academy bonds can be issued in each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories for 2014.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's preliminary $77.7 billion fiscal 2016 budget for New York City represents a spending plan that the capital markets will accept, observers said.

The steady annual climb in the collective long-term, tax-supported debt of Chicago, Cook County, and the city's sister agencies reversed course in 2013, doing little to dent a debt tally that is up almost 60% over 10 years.

Owners of the bankrupt Indiana Toll Road assured a federal bankruptcy judge recently that they expect to find a new owner for the 75-year lease within a few months and that the asset could fetch as much as $5 billion.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $24 billion of three-year notes with a 1% coupon at a 1.050% yield, a price of 99.852956.

The municipal bond market saw about $393 million of new competitive supply from Washington state hit the screens as the first of the week's big new issues came to market.

Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded to A3 from A1 the underlying rating on East Cleveland City School District, Ohio's outstanding general obligation unlimited tax debt.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $40 billion of four-week bills at a 0.015% high yield, a price of 99.998833.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday signed an executive order freeing state employees who opt not to join a union from having to pay so-called "fair share" fees used to fund unions' political activities.

Standard & Poor's upgraded Miami's general obligation bond ratings to A-plus from BBB citing the city's improved financial management practices and budget flexibility.

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa2 underlying rating on Louisiana Public Facilities Authority's $85.2 million revenue refunding bonds, Series 2015, and downgraded to Baa2 from Baa1 the rating on Series 2007 revenue bonds issued by the authority that are secured by the same pledged revenues.

The suspension of the nation's debt limit expires March 15, with important implications for municipal issuers selling refunding debt during the next several weeks.