Public finance

The services sector showed improvement and employment made big gains in March, but economists note the labor market remains far from full employment.

Over the weekend, prominent senators criticized President Biden's infrastructure plan, with some more moderate senators' votes hanging in the balance.

The deal affects $3.2 billion of Employees Retirement System bonds.

With its growth only slightly hindered by the pandemic, the University of Texas System aims for savings with refunding deal.

Non-farm payrolls rose 916,000 in March, according to a Labor Department report Friday, while the unemployment rate fell to 6%.

The funding would come on top on multi-billion measures proposed by lawmakers — and a $100 billion in spending included in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.

Recent one-time funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and higher-than-projected revenues for many states are in many cases being put into infrastructure.

The authority appears ready to take advantage of market conditions following a successful December refunding.

Assured Guaranty and National Public Finance Guarantee continue talks with the Puerto Rico Oversight Board.

The municipal bond industry faces many obstacles and opportunities from the pandemic. But 83% of surveyed participants think munis have made it through the worst.

Susan Courtney, head of the Municipal Bond Team at PGIM Fixed Income, talks inflation, muni credit in COVID times and infrastructure. (27 Minutes) Lynne Funk hosts.

A Biden executive order may lead to the expansion of a central Puerto Rico industry — pharmaceuticals.

Municipal bond industry leaders weighed in on their expectations for 2021 during a panel discussion at The Bond Buyer's National Outlook Conference.

Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, combined with the shortened week and the arrival of the second quarter, took attention away from the muni market.

The first quarter of 2021 concludes with $102.1 billion, slightly higher than the $95.3 billion that the market saw in the COVID-ravaged first quarter of 2020.

Municipal bond provisions were not mentioned, but stakeholders expect those details to be hashed out in what is likely to be a protracted battle in Congress.

Gov. Ralph Northam and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced the agreements with Amtrak, CSX and Virginia Railway Express.

Larger fund flows, lower supply and optimism surrounding issuer credit post-stimulus allowed for a March price reversal that avoids posting two consecutive months with losses. The consumer confidence index jumped to its highest reading in a year in March.

Transportation fare and tax revenues lost to the coronavirus can be countered with federal relief funding, says the Illinois Economic Policy Institute.

Municipals continue to outperform Treasuries amid a light holiday-shortened week led by a California tobacco deal.