Public finance

Massachusetts looks to a millionaire's tax for transportation and a measure in tourist-heavy Orange County, Florida would double local transit funding.

With the Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week and the next week shortened by the bond market observance of Veterans Day, CreditSights strategists said "investors should be prepared for two weeks of subdued new issuance."

They say the HTA employees group have failed to show any of the four conditions needed for a court to order a stay.

Total October volume was $24.951 billion in 510 deals versus $41.811 billion in 1,068 issues a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data.

Watkins has served in a variety of leadership roles on muni associations and is described by colleagues as a tireless advocate for the municipal bond issuing community.

Robert Radigan has joined Squire Patton Boggs as partner in the Public & Infrastructure Finance Practice in New York.

The upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday has led to a lighter new-issue calendar with $2.72 billion on tap.

The PFC bondholders are to get cash and some new appropriation-backed bonds.

The $53 billion Army Corps of Engineers plan is the largest of hundreds of coastal protection projects launched since Superstorm Sandy swamped the area in 2012.

The municipal market was a tale of two halves in fiscal 2022, the report says.

Increased use of third-party vendors by transportation issuers may be putting those entities at increased risk.

Municipal to UST ratios have risen this week with the 10-year approaching 90% and the 30-year topping 100%.

While only 29 city related pension plans in 2021 reported future fail dates for meeting retirement benefits, that number could worsen this year as investment returns tumble.

Outflows continued as investors pulled $3.876 billion from mutual funds in the week ending Oct. 19 after $4.532 billion of outflows the previous week, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority will restructure a portion of fiscal 2023 debt service amid tax collections still recovering from the pandemic.

While muni performance has turned negative for October, "the asset class is significantly outperforming UST," said Jeff Lipton, managing director of credit research at Oppenheimer Inc.

The bondholders say they are owed $8.3 billion of principal and billions more of unpaid interest.

As issuers push against a financial disclosure bill pending in the Senate, some buy-siders say standardized disclosure would attract more investors and boost liquidity.

The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped $22.897 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, a 21.1% decrease from the $29.028 billion of deals done in the first nine months of 2021.

"Municipal market performance has improved, but the bumpy road continues as investors remain uncertain about the interest rate environment," said Nuveen's Head of Municipals John Miller.