Investments

Municipals held firm ahead of this week's new issue slate, which features deals from issuers in New York and Texas. Treasuries weakened as stocks rose on positive coronavirus news.

Selling in a week with an expected light calendar should help the deal as will market fundamentals.

But the economy is still significantly smaller than it was a year ago.

Jennifer Johnston will replace Tom Walsh, who is retiring on Dec. 1.

New York's mayor says the budget for the 2021 fiscal year is balanced despite the coronavirus impacts.

Municipals continue to rally as market participants get ready to head into a quiet holiday week.

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. is working with the territory's lawmakers on an internet sales tax and other revenue ideas to avoid a 42% pension benefit cut on Jan. 1.

Large blocks of New Jersey paper changed hands with yields that pushed spreads below 100 basis points on some maturities for the recently downgraded state.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell said President-elect Biden will move on a pandemic relief bill early in his presidency and a robust infrastructure package would soon follow. Others see scaled-down aid and an upward partisan battle.

Sarah Mitchell, CFA and a portfolio manager at Mondrian Investment Partners, talks with Chip Barnett about one of the hottest sectors in the municipal bond market today – green bonds – and the possibility of the U.S. government issuing a sovereign green bond. (20 minutes)

The Finance Committee signed off on new money, refunding, and scoop-and-toss debt restructuring deals and finance teams to assemble and sell the bonds.

A supply/demand imbalance allowed New Jersey and Massachusetts to reprice to lower yields while the beleaguered New York MTA will head back to the Fed for liquidity.

With both houses now under GOP control, Gov. Chris Sununu will have an easier time with his agenda.

The state's uncoordinated approach to allocating private activity bonds and funding affordable housing let $2.7 billion of authority go to waste, she said.

Paying post-petition bond interest to an unsecured creditor during the archdiocese's Chapter 11 bankruptcy is unusual, attorneys say.

Comptroller Stringer said Mayor de Blasio can present his updated Financial Plan with a path to a balanced budget for fiscal 2022 without cuts to essential services, layoffs of city workers, or borrowing to support operating expenses.

The strong demand amid a dearth of new municipal issuance by states and a reach for yield also allowed New Jersey to skip a planned taxable portion and officials announced it would not need to access the Fed's Municipal Liquidity Facility.

The state's backlog of unpaid bills will grow to $35 billion by 2026 if it doesn't make any structural budget fixes, according to a new forecast.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is promoting a $950 million restructuring that adds three years to the city's debt service schedule as present value neutral when factoring in savings from a more traditional $750 million refunding.

The authority is altering many of its operations and organizations, including exploring public-private partnerships and renewable energy resources.