Investments

In a new debt profile report, the Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the MTA will be pressured if congestion pricing tolls in Manhattan are blocked.

Even as Florida advances a pair of bills expanding the state's already broad public-private partnership authority, the P3 message from the state's debt office appears less than enthusiastic.

More than $17 billion of general obligation bonds piled onto May 4 election ballots in the state, with voters passing some of the biggest, including Dallas' $1.25 billion, 10-part package.

A $327 million competitive bond deal, including $35 million of taxables, will fund renovations to the stadium and a new football operations building.

The University repriced to lower yields up to 15 basis points Wednesday while Illinois accellerated its pricing of its tax-exempt GOs and were repriced yesterday afternoon with bumps of 10 to 13 basis points and saw $1.5 billion of retail orders alone.

California lawmakers asked the high court to intervene on the measure headed for November's ballot.

Immigration effects in municipalities are seen as pros and cons

A state judge issued a temporary injunction against enforcement of the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, which has led to the ban of seven financial firms, including four big municipal bond underwriters, from government contracts.

The deal comes after months of disagreements over ballooning costs for the project, which was first announced in 2018.

April's "poor performance" pushed munis further into negative territory, but "despite the poor start to the year, they may still end the year positive," said Cooper Howard, a fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab.

The driving force behind the trend is the overall strength of the economy, according to Fitch Ratings' Michael Rinaldi. Revenue sources for municipalities, such as sales and property taxes, are doing very well. 

Syncora and GoldenTree Asset Management want an accounting of what happened to PREPA net revenues.

"It'll be very interesting to see when an event happens or the market get sloppy, what the secondary market does," said a sellside panelist at a Bond Buyer market outlook panel in Florida.

Delivery delays for Boeing planes are impacting airports, with Southwest Airlines recently announcing it is pulling out or reducing flights at some facilities.

The rating agency revised the outlook on the state's AA general obligation rating to positive from stable and said there is a one-in-three chance of a future rating upgrade.

"We remain cautious with respect to duration given the uncertain macro and geopolitical environment though optically, yields seem attractive in the current range," said Wells Fargo's Vikram Rai.

This week's deal will fund accelerated pension payments and Rebuild Illinois expenditures. A $250 million piece will be taxable.

In the wake of Citi's and UBS's exit from the municipal industry, other firms are seizing the opportunity to expand with new hires.

A supply surge hits the market as The Bond Buyer 30-day visible bond volume ticks in at $17.67 billion, $10 billion of which will come the first full week of May, just as macroeconomic data moves all markets to rally.

The latest revision of Oklahoma's fossil fuel "boycotter" list added Barclays, which joins three other municipal bond underwriters placed there last year.