Public finance

The correction to the municipal market has improved muni to UST ratios while uncertainty hangs over ahead of the election. J.P. Morgan's Peter DeGroot said the firm expects the end of next week "will mark the end of the difficult technical period in 2024 and believe that net supply in November will lead to better valuations broadly in the municipal market."

"We have made good progress, but inflation is still running above the FOMC's 2% objective," said Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack.

Several macro trends have converged to drive growth in municipal bond issuance, said participants at The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance conference.

Vales is currently a director for fixed-income focused broker-dealer InspereX and an independent trustee for the Axonic Funds, having previously served as the CEO of electronic trading platform TMC Bonds, which ICE acquired in 2019.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board held its first board meeting over Oct. 23-24, where it approved a number of rule proposals and requests.

Build America Mutual insured the majority of the maturities in the West Contra Costa Unified School District GO deal.

The downgrade affects $2.1 billion in bond debt and extends to its utility debt.

While fundamentals remain strong — with credit upgrades outpacing downgrades by 3.5 times so far in 2024 — technical factors have been "less supportive," Principal Asset Management strategists said in a report.

San Francisco's slow recovery from the pandemic and continued financial pressures drove the downgrade, Moody's analysts said.

Up to $475 million of unrated revenue bonds will be sold to purchase, expand, and renovate the Stanley Hotel, which inspired Stephen King's The Shining.

Despite studies showing questionable financials, municipalities continue to build

Recent EPA regulations mandating utilities remove lead pipes from distribution systems within 10 years will add to the financial burden.

The event went on as scheduled Tuesday against a backdrop of escalating conflict between the mayor and controller, with each requesting a probe of the other.

"Coming off rich muni-Treasury ratios, the market has swiftly repriced," said 16Rock Asset Management's James Pruskowski. "With now cheaper benchmark yields and wider credit spreads, fresh capital is flowing in, and a strong bottoming opportunity looks to be emerging."

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced an initiative to further exclude fossil fuels from pension funds' private portfolios to combat climate change.

Three of the six conservation referendums on Midwest ballots are for bond authorizations; one in Illinois and two in Iowa.

"The identity of the marginal buyer may be shifting, and with that the market's valuation of structure and liquidity," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

Tax experts are looking past the election for clues about the fate of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is approaching its sunset and includes the controversial SALT cap.

Public pension benefit improvements could put credit pressure on states that enact them, the rating agency said this week.

In FY 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission's Examination Division will be closely monitoring for compliance with MSRB Rule G-42 on the core standards of municipal advisors, in addition to enforcing the T+1 settlement cycle.