Public finance

The statement offered no surprises, but Fed Chair jerome Powell's refusal to denounce more hawkish scenarios hurt market sentiment.

In his new role, Kurt Summers will look for opportunities to partner with local governments to advance their infrastructure priorities.

Better communication will be key in future P3s, a top Maryland transportation official said.

Triple-A benchmarks were cut two to six basis points across the curve with the largest moves concentrated again on bonds inside 10 years, underperforming Treasuries once again.

Virgin Islands Sen. Kurt Vialet said he expects the legislature to approve the refunding bill by Monday. The current bill does not include an interest rate cap that killed a refunding deal attempted in September 2020.

The Federal Highway Administration has acknowledged it lacks the authority to tell states how to spend federal infrastructure dollars, AASHTO said.

John Hallacy of John Hallacy Consulting LLC sits down with Chip Barnett to talk about what the municipal bond market will face in 2022. He discusses inflation, new issuance volume, and the future of infrastructure this year amid the lingering effects of COVID and Omicron. (19 minutes)

Munis are expected to underperform for another few weeks as markets remain volatile and investors reevaluate allocations.

Enacting the muni market agenda through Build Back Better remains the top choice, but FY22 spending bills also present an opportunity, said the GFOA's lobbyist.

The combination of steady supply, heavy secondary selling and inconsistent demand have moved yields to their highest levels since May 2020.

The bulk of the IIJA money will flow first to the states, so cities need to be organized and ready to work with governors, White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu told the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Swain's order affects $1.9 billion of PRIFA bonds and $384 million of CCDA bonds, for which insurers and bondholders will receive minimum recoveries of 14% and 29% of par, respectively.

Maryland blames a "post-pandemic market" for cost increases lifting the light rail line's price tag to $9.28 billion. The system is to open four years late in 2026.

As New York's new City Council continues to organize, the new mayor, Eric Adams, says how he will achieve his "paycheck in crypto" promise.

The law concerning bankruptcy advisor disclosures comes after the SEC fined Oversight Board advisor McKinsey in November.

Refinitiv Lipper reported $238.926 million of outflows, but $182.035 million of inflows to high-yield, reversing last week's outflows. New-issues faced concessions.

“To date, there haven’t been any rating actions taken as a result of the drought,” said Fitch's Audra Dickinson. “But it could pressure issuers acutely."

The Investment Company Institute reported a large drop of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds at $142 million in the week ending Jan. 12, down from $1.413 billion in the previous week.

Participants note there is a long road to sustainable recovery for the island that is dependent on the local government keeping its spending in check.

Skokie held on to its double-A tier ratings as it preps a pension obligation bond issue to bring its public safety pension funding ratios to 90%.