Investments

Two initiatives were dropped from the California ballot as Gov. Gavin Newsom worked to secure a legislative fix.

GFOA Today 2024, day 1

GFOA Today 2024, day 2

Washington state won the most amount of grants and the most in funding for the second year in a row.

The Ohio county seated in Cleveland is only one of many jurisdictions where officials are grappling with weakening sales tax revenues.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, recently vetoed anti-ESG legislation similar to Missouri's, saying that it overstepped legal authority.

Convention centers in Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis are being upgraded, although cost increases after the pandemic added challenges to some financings.

Demand for the increased supply has been "solid" if nearly largely reliant on income-oriented small lot buyers, noted Municipal Market Analytics, Inc. Partner Matt Fabian. Through last week, buyers continued to be separately managed account/retail in size.

The 0.34% sales tax rate increase would raise an estimated $70 million annually for Colorado's only safety net healthcare provider.

Finance officials for the city decided to be the first municipal issuer to use the distributed ledger technology for a $10 million deal, banking on cost savings, better liquidity and more access for retail investors to their bonds. Mayor Tom Koch, CFO Eric Mason and Strategic Asset Manager Rick Coscia say it should be the first of many deals for the industry.

Total volume currently stands at $224.13 billion, up 38.5% from $161.848 billion at this time last year. As the end of the first half approaches, several firms are revisiting their supply projections for the year, given the growth so far this year.

A pair of infrastructure experts are proposing a $25 billion federal appropriation to create state bond banks across the country.

In a one-day special session, lawmakers passed a bill expanding an economic development bond program to finance venues for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.

With the "pretty good run" month-to-date, it would not be unexpected to see "the market take a breather, and with a large calendar this coming week, it may again move sideways," said AllianceBernstein strategists in a weekly report.

A 2023 U.S. Appeals Court ruling derailed federal approvals for the Uinta Basin Railway, which plans to seek up to $2 billion in private-activity bonds.

With a tax battle looming, the chair of the powerful committee will guide tax policy.

Broker-dealer Millennium will provide clients with real-time pricing and trade execution capabilities by connecting directly to the Investortools Dealer Network, or IDN.

The low-investment-grade offering for a high-profile public private partnership stood out in a crowded airport sector.

"It is hard to be overly excited about current valuations of tax-exempts relative to Treasuries; however, at tax-adjusted yields (using individual tax brackets), munis look quite attractive compared with other asset classes," noted Barclays PLC.

While the muni market lobbies for its wish list, investors keep in mind that any tax rate changes affect appetite and market technicals.