Public finance

Ongoing work to potentially simplify the new issue disclosure submission process and discussion of dealer supervisory obligations will be among topics on deck at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's upcoming quarterly board meeting.

Bondholders say the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau is legally required to set rates to cover all bond principal and pre- and post-petition interest due. The board disagrees.

The municipal bond market's initial negative reaction to this month's Southern California wildfires has eased, with secondary spreads starting to tighten.

The agency's figures represent the most actions filed in their respective periods since at least 2000.

Investors added $2.028 billion to municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Wednesday, following $251.7 million of outflows the prior week, according to LSEG Lipper data.

Chicago plans to sell roughly $830 million of general obligation bonds to finance its 2024-28 capital improvement plan, according to the city's finance team.

The introduction of new engines in a northern power plant and the opening of a solar farm in the south have reduced the authority's operating costs.

The Maryland Department of Transportation moves to shore up its debt service while funding bridge repairs, airport modernization, and rail improvements with a $21.2 billion budget commitment.

The state House and Senate announced their spending plans for the upcoming biennium, including funding to continue and increase 2023's state-funded tax cut.

Issuance was led by a $2 billion retail pricing from the University of California in the negotiated market and a $1.2 billion competitive deal from Washington.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported total net assets of $67 million for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024, up 14% from a year earlier.

Broker-dealer Siebert Williams Shank's foundation donated $100,000 to two organizations aiding Los Angeles-area residents affected by the wildfires.

President Trump's executive order calling for pausing funds flowing from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act caught the transportation sector off guard.

There are eight municipal bond interval funds, three of which launched last year, promising fewer liquidity constraints and the potential for higher returns.

From threats to the tax exemption to state budget challenges and tariffs to insurance risks, this year is already shaping up to be the previous one's equal in sheer excitement.

The top five bond financings came in above $7 billion.

Underperforming since the calendar turned, "munis have continued to cheapen over the past three weeks as Treasury returns are about flat for the year while munis are down 0.31%," said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

The tax exemption appears to be in realistic danger as House Republicans seek to offset the cost of extending the Trump tax cuts.

"Stan, as a former CFO and controller within the school system, has considerable insight into the needs of our education clients, and can leverage the full breadth of Stephens' resources to help them realize their goals," Stephens' Leigh Ann Biernat said in a statement.

Public school districts sought bond authorizations in January totaling $469 million, which topped an available state cap of $293.4 million.