Investments

The state's labor force continued to increase last month as more people entered the labor force, hitting an annual growth rate of 3.2%.

The year is ending on a strong note, said Joshua Perry, a partner, portfolio manager and municipal credit analyst at Brown Advisory.

Cities and states in the Southwest are making affordable housing a funding priority through voter-approved general obligation bonds or in their budgets.

COVID made predicting the economic future even more difficult. While calls for a recession and rate cuts for this year didn't pan out, here's what experts see for 2024.

Despite federal restrictions, governments flush with stimulus funds funneled a significant amount toward pension plans in 2022, a new report found.

The Water Infrastructure Financing Authority will use information it received from banks, businesses, conservation groups, and others to solicit water augmentation projects next year.

LSEG Lipper reported Thursday that investors added $147 million to muni mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday after outflows of $514.5 million the week prior. High-yield saw some outflows, though.

A hotel tax that supports the authority's bonds has recovered strongly from the pandemic, the rating agency said.

The issuer is set to come to market with general revenue bonds the week of Jan. 21, according to its investor website.

"Preserving a livable planet and a thriving economy will require a collective global commitment both to the phase-out of fossil fuels and to massive new investments," said New York Comptroller Brad Lander.

The county said this action will reduce its debt service costs by $115.9 million over the next six years.

The reserve should have enough to cover bond payments for a year, according to an observer.

The Investment Company Institute reported more outflows from municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Dec. 13, with investors pulling $588 million from the funds.

Increasing capital requirements for banks may incentivize them to buy Treasuries over other assets, including munis, said market participants.

"It's important that we start to move rates down," Harker said Wednesday in a local radio interview. "We don't have to do it too fast, and we're not going to do it right away."

The upgrade affects $2.3 billion in debt. The commission also had its outlook revised to stable from positive.

The county plans to sell $2.5 billion of tax-exempt sewer revenue warrants to refund the debt issued to finance its 2013 exit from Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

A gain of more than 4,000 residents came amid population gains in much of the Bay Area and as a counterpoint to a "doom loop" narrative about San Francisco.

The Bloomberg Municipal Index has returned 1.90% so far in December and 5.96% year-to-date, while the High-Yield Index is up 2.75% this month and 8.94% in 2023. Taxable munis are returning 3.98% in December bringing year-to-date returns to 7.83%.

SIFMA, which also filed a brief, said the District Court judge's rejection of a bondholder lien on PREPA's revenues "grossly misreads the underlying bond documents."