Investments

The rapid swing to lower yields over the past week has led to a sunnier outlook for the summer reinvestment season, but uncertainties on the economic front, rate volatility, and supply questions hang overhead.

Investors will be greeted Tuesday with a decrease in supply with the new-issue calendar estimated at $2.691 billion in $1.786 billion of negotiated deals and $904.9 million of competitive loans.

Chicago's decades-long casino chase has moved closer to reality with Mayor Lori Lightfoot banking on the fiscal jackpot to help fund the city's pensions.

Rising home values are putting the spotlight on property taxes in Texas, where state lawmakers are eying tax relief options even as previously approved measures slow the growth in tax bills.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has come forward with a proposal that would expand the Names Rule to include any language associated with ESG related metrics.

All parties except for the Unsecured Creditors Committee support the extension.

The boutique consultancy firm, which focuses largely on transportation infrastructure, is growing "modestly" amid an uptick in federal funding.

An Illinois judge upheld the constitutionality of the state's consolidation of downstate public safety pension funds; an appeal is expected.

Technology enables us to be better, smarter, and faster and allows its adopters to focus on more substantive tasks, unearth insightful information and manage human relationships.  

A firm representing the Oversight Board also represented firms that acquired a loan portfolio from a board-controlled entity.

Municipals improved for the fifth session in a row with 10- and 30-year triple-A yields falling 30 basis points since Thursday. Connecticut priced $1 billion-plus of GOs and saw yields lowered in a repricing.

"It is a disturbing trend that elected officials are using their powers to punish companies and municipal governments (and individuals) based on their social views," says Natalie Cohen, founder of The Public Purse.

A pipeline of projects is building as infrastructure dollars begin to flow to states.

Several major technicals are beginning to improve in the muni market, said Burt Mulford, portfolio co-manager of fixed and strategic income at Eagle Asset Management.

The December 2020 supplemental aid package provided $9.8 billion directly to state departments of transportation, the only direct stimulus that DOTs received.

Chicago hasn't shied away from using its relationships with investment banks to pursuit of larger social goals, but it hasn't always gone the city's way.

John Boyd, principal at The Boyd Company, chats with Chip Barnett about how the COVID-19 pandemic and hybrid work has altered the way companies look at cities and states when they think about locations for their headquarters. (20 minutes)

Fixed-income markets have had a tough 2022 but municipal bonds have been among the ones that have struggled the most.

Toll roads, registration fees and mileage-based fees are seen as the most sustainable options for replacing declining fuel tax revenue, but feasibility issues and political pressures complicate the way ahead.

The recommendation would build reserves toward a target of 16% of tax revenues in order to prevent drastic service cuts during a recession.