Public finance

Guam is diversifying its economy beyond tourism and the military, Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero said.

"We do good work," said Mike LaPierre, president of GPM Municipal Advisors, which acts as advisor and staff to the Public Finance Authority and the California Community Housing Agency.

The average muni bond trade size fell below $204,000 in the first quarter, down 5% from 2025, according to Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board data.

"Really the only chance of high speed rail in the United States in the next decade is Brightline West," said Federal Railroad Administration head David Fink.

A New Jersey suburb will issue short-term debt as its officials try to recover $4.8 million stolen after a cyberattacker accessed a school district email.

Observers say there is a real chance that Democrats may win the governorships of Florida and Georgia, affecting the states' fiscal policies.

"The market is starting to feel a little bit on the heavy side," said Jamie Iselin, head of municipal fixed income at Neuberger Berman. "The Treasury market has been leaking higher as, I think, people are getting concerned that the conflict in the Middle East is going to [last] longer."

"It became clear our residence halls were a constraint and not an asset for our university," WKU president Timothy Caboni said.

Muni yields increased "in sympathy with the Treasury market," according to Charles Schwab's Cooper Howard.

Fitch Ratings cited Sacramento City Unified School District's fiscal challenges in downgrading its issuer default rating to junk and assigning a negative outlook.

Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton argues MRBs can add value to conservative muni sleeves, but warns that extraordinary redemption features, prepayment behavior, loan origination performance and liquidity constraints can make redemption analysis just as important as credit analysis.

The state supreme court is hearing the case that affects $5 billion in authorized bonds, $150 million that have been issued.

The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped over $7.704 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 4.9% year-over-year from the $7.342 billion in Q1 2025, according to LSEG data.

The administration's effort to revitalize the maritime industry includes opportunities for public-private partnerships.

Butler Snow and Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth were new entrants to the top 10 year-over-year, knocking Chapman and Cutler and Nixon Peabody to the top 15.

Debt requests are escalating as the Lone Star State accommodates a growing population and addresses aging infrastructure.

All sectors of the muni market posted gains in April, Kim Olsan wrote, exemplifying the market's better-than-expected resilience.

Last year, 23 active ETFs launched along with nine passive ones. While the first quarter of the year bucks that trend as one active ETF launched compared to three passive ones, things could change the rest of the year, analysts say.

Fitch Ratings on Monday echoed a prior move by Moody's Ratings to revise the state's outlook to negative.

Veteran public finance banker Shawn Dralle has joined Los Angeles County as assistant-treasurer tax collector.