News and Information from Bond Buyer

The muni yield curve continued to rise on the short end Monday as tax-exempt bonds followed slumping Treasuries and weakened for a fifth day.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp said that he plans for the committee to work to determine which tax provisions that expired at the end of last year should be made permanent.

Government

Mere talk that the federal government should divest the Tennessee Valley Authority has had a negative consequence, the head of a local power utility said.

Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. extended its public finance banking reach to Minnesota, establishing a new Minneapolis office by hiring Paul Donna, Michael Hoheisel, and Matt Rantapaa from Northland Securities.

The University of Texas System plans to build a $102 million headquarters in downtown Austin, replacing five buildings it currently uses for offices, officials said.

Bonds approved by voters in 2012 are expected to help El Paso County close a $17 million gap in funding for a highway link to a new international bridge.

Atlanta plans to refund $705.5 million of bonds originally sold to finance improvements at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Maryland can proceed with the selection of a private partner to design, build, and operate the $2.4 billion Purple Line commuter rail project via a public-private partnership after federal approval last week of the environmental impact statement.

Support for 'Gridlock Sam' Schwartz's latest plan to ease New York congestion and toll inequity ranged from a motor truck association to the Straphangers Campaign.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are seeking recommendations for items that should be included on the 2014-2015 priority guidance plan.

Non-dealer financial advisors are warning the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed new best execution rule may conflict with the MSRB’s existing fair-dealing rule. Both they and dealers are seeking clarifications on what the rule would require dealers to do.

The Anaheim Public Financing Authority plans to price $265 million of lease revenue bonds on Tuesday to fund an expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center.

Market participants showed apathy to few new bonds available Monday, as municipal bonds extended weakening to a fifth day.

Oklahoma will test the refunding market with more than $300 million of revenue bonds in a pair of deals over two weeks.

Puerto Rico's Economic Activity Index was unchanged in January compared to December.

Expectations for rising interest rates, continued low supply, and credit spread tightening are prompting municipal portfolio managers preparing for the second quarter to tweak the duration and credit quality of their tax-exempt holdings, while keeping a wary eye on the economy.

The Detroit Water and Sewer Department plans to come to market in June with $150 million of sewer bonds — and possibly a restructuring of its entire $4 billion portfolio — in the midst of the city's tumultuous bankruptcy and talks to privatize the asset.

Hercules officials said they plan to seek to have the city's CCC-plus rating from Standard & Poor's reinstated.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.050% high rate, unchanged from 0.050% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.075% high rate, down from 0.080% the week before.