Capital markets

Municipal market participants will come back to work after a long holiday weekend to almost $7 billion of new issuance, highlighted by another billion dollar deal from California.

UBS Wealth Management Americas is looking to revive its capital markets and public finance businesses, hiring Peter Hill from Wells Fargo and Steven Genyk from Janney, and reassigning Chief Risk Officer Mark Sanborn to head capital markets and sales.

Municipal bond traders were wrapping up their business on Thursday ahead of the full market close for Good Friday. Trading will resume after the Easter weekend on Monday, April 17.

Municipal bonds were stronger at midday as the state of California competitively sold $636 million of general obligation bonds on Wednesday.

Citing good management with "strong" financial policies and practices, a major agency recently reaffirmed the city's AAA bond rating, which lets Newburyport buy bonds at lower interest rates.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in Florida posted a $27 million loss in 2016 stemming from what it calls abusive “assignment of benefit” claims and litigation, which are being reviewed by the Legislature.

Wells Fargo dropped to eighth place among municipal underwriters, hurt by last year's phony accounts scandal. Citi maintained its lead in the ranking.

Successful St. Louis and Kansas City tax and bond measures support their credit profiles.

St. Louis based SSM is turning to the taxable market to pay down debt and bolster its liquidity.

The termination of a casino revenue-sharing agreement with the Seneca Nation of Indians is a credit negative for Niagara Falls, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Energy Northwest is preparing to price $592 million of revenue and refunding bonds.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded $13 billion in Puerto Rico bonds on Wednesday, citing increasing pessimism about recoveries on the bonds.

East Texas Medical Center, one of the largest healthcare providers in the region, slipped two notches to B3 from B1 on the Moody's Investors Service as prospects for default.

Municipal bond insurer analysts are rechecking their estimates of potential losses in Puerto Rico after the federal control board approved a 10-year plan that assumes less than 24% of debt coming due will be repaid.

The New Jersey Municipal Qualified Bond Act program, New Jersey County College Enhancement Bond Program, and New Jersey School Bond Reserve Act program were all downgraded in connection with the recent downgrade of the state government.

After a slow week in the primary that featured little action and few well-known names, the market is expected to get a jolt of chunky issuance from big names from the states of New York and California.