News and Information from Bond Buyer

The independent financial services firm will be bulking up its public finance business by hiring additional staff as it looks to Florida's West Coast while supporting its existing offices in Miami and Boca Raton.

October has, on average, been the heaviest new-issue month of the year. Analysts said the lower volume, particularly taxables, was led by many issuers sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a potential package from Washington, D.C.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's thrusts include the MTA Open Data Act; state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli launched a federal COVID-19 funding tracker.

The city’s timing is good as long as market demand for municipals, especially higher yielding paper, stays on track, municipal bond investors say.

Amid a flattening municipal yield curve and inversion of the Treasury market, new issues fared better than the secondary on Thursday as participants prepared for month end.

The lack of inclusion of the muni market's priorities in the reconciliation framework sends a strong signal they're unlikely to be included in the final legislation.

Underwriter Cantone Research’s alleged fraudulent misrepresentations are tied to two defaulted bond offerings.

Its deep water and access to dollars position it well, a climate expert said.

The public power procurers face cost challenges that drove one into bankruptcy, even as more established aggregators begin issuing bonds.

The legislation Gov. Pedro Pierluisi signed late Tuesday is sufficient to issue new bonds, the board said, which was integral to getting the island out of its $33 billion bankruptcy.

ICI reported the lowest inflows since outflows in March, while exchanged-traded funds saw an uptick.

The Illinois Municipal Electric Agency will have paid off its debt by the time the Prairie State Energy Campus faces an emissions deadline to avoid an early decommissioning under new Illinois clean energy mandates.

The SALT deduction cap could be increased, suspended or repealed.

Louisiana voters will decide Nov. 13 on constitutional amendments that affect how income taxes are calculated and sales taxes are collected.

The tax on unrealized capital gains would be straightforward for securities that trade frequently, but less so for less-frequently traded assets like many munis.

It is unclear if the Oversight Board will accept the law and how much it differs from Board-endorsed legislation that failed last week in the legislature.

As of now, returns for the month will very likely end in the red. The Bloomberg U.S. Municipal Index is at -0.40% for the month and +0.39% for the year.

Gavin Newsom unveils his annual budget proposal in mid-January.

Fitch joined Kroll and Moody's in moving Chicago's outlook to stable from negative as City Council prepares to vote on a budget and $4.4 billion in borrowing.

S&P raised the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, Florida’s customer facility charge revenue bonds for Tampa International Airport to A-minus from BBB-plus. It also raised HCAA's senior and subordinate liens for TPA.