Muni Minute

Recent financial gains such as funding from Senate Bill 1 and a TIFIA loan mean that hope is on the way for drivers of Orange County, California.

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s intended $500 million offering of transportation revenue bonds will be on the day-to-day calendar amid the authority’s wave of derailments, signaling malfunctions and track fires.

After two years Illinois finally got a budget, but this week the municipal bond market will be eying the state’s credit rating.

With the first half of the year officially in the books, we take a look at long-term municipal bond issuance.

As the end of the fiscal year for most states’ is approaching, there remain a handful of key states who have yet to pass a budget.

If passed, the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 would have a widespread ripple effect, as there are muni bond provisions which would hurt enforcement organizations such as the MSRB and SEC.

Time’s almost up for Illinois state lawmakers and the governor to come up with a budget plan that all can live with as the spring legislative session ends this week.

Although President Trump will be out of the country, his budget is expected to be released on Tuesday with all eyes on any allocation or lack thereof to infrastructure.

With comments on the SEC’s proposal to add two new event notices to 15c2-12 rule due soon, market participants have been reacting negatively, saying the changes will add unnecessary burdens for issuers and dealers.

Last week’s filing of Title III by the Oversight Board, which sets the stage for a court-supervised reorganization of Puerto Rico’s debt, was just the start of a critical series of decisions for investors in the commonwealth’s bonds. There may be developments on several Puerto Rico fronts this week.

Against a backdrop of a scolding from the state auditor for “using misleading budgeting practices” the Regents of the University of California is set to bring volume to a market that is starving for new issuance.

In this week's Muni Minute, we examine Puerto Rico's debt restructuring negotiations, which are scheduled to begin this week... if the bondholders show up.

In this new edition of Muni Minute, we turn our focus to The Hill in Washington, D.C., as there will be lots of activity that should be of interest to the municipal market.

In the latest episode of Muni Minute, The Bond Buyer looks beyond this week's meeting of the Federal Reserve to what lies ahead for interest rates during the rest of the year. Will the economy improve with above average job, wage and GDP growth? Will the Fed then feel confident enough to raise rates more that its anticipated three times? Will four become the Fed's lucky number in 2017? Stay tuned on Wednesday for the FOMC's new summary of economic projections that may answer these questions.

In the latest installment of Muni Minute, we look at the current municipal market environment. Volatility has taken over, as there is much uncertainty in the marketplace in regards to tax reform and interest rates and if there is one thing the market doesn't like, it is uncertainty.