Public finance

The governor pointed out the advantages of the current low interest-rate market environment and the state’s low debt levels.

The federal Tennessee Valley Authority has been pushed to offer better terms to local utilities in the Southeast to keep them in its fold.

The primary led the secondary to lower yields as UST 10-year fell to lows last seen a week ago. Regional service sector surveys released Tuesday showed improvement, which feeds into the belief that inflation will rise in the near term.

States and local governments will soon get guidance on how they can spend $350 billion in funds from the last round of coronavirus relief.

Lawmakers approved a Golden State Stimulus that provides relief to businesses and $600 checks to low-income residents on the strength of an earlier-reported surplus.

Monday’s economic data suggested weakness, with existing home sales declining for the first time in four months and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index slipping into negative territory, but economists are not concerned.

The legislature's GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee will craft a two-year capital plan after rejecting Gov. Tony Evers' $2.4 billion plan for only the second time in recent history.

How the industry weathered the worst public health crisis in over 100 years to bring to market the amount of bonds it did, and to recover as it did, is a testament to its resiliency and its necessity for the state and local governments it serves. Join us for perspectives from industry experts on March 31.

The bond insurer adds a second office in the Lone Star State, where it does a large volume of business.

Republican opposition to tax increases supporting an infrastructure bill may hamper the advancement of hoped-for muni tax provisions.

Yields jumped as much as 10 basis points as new deals saw some concessions as munis played catch up to the run-up in U.S. Treasury rates after the 10-year hit 1.75% mid-session. Refinitiv Lipper reports nearly $1.3 billion of inflows.

The rise of machine learning. Continued growth of electronic trading. Intensifying automation. Stephanie Sparvero, Global Head of BVAL Evaluated Pricing at Bloomberg, talks about these issues and more in how the muni market is charting a changing muni landscape. Lynne Funk hosts. (30 minutes)

The Fed remains dovish, although it raised inflation projections and lowered expected unemployment rates, but most participants still see rates at the zero lower bound in 2023.

The pandemic and the resultant lockdowns have hit employment in the 50 states worse than they have on the island, which saw a 1.6% decline.

Illinois rode the tailwinds of market demand for higher-yielding paper and its rosier fiscal picture, sending its primary market spreads to their lowest since 2014.

A repricing of Illinois GOs saw the bonds bumped by 12 to 20 basis points from Tuesday's preliminary pricing wires and 17 to 25 basis points from Monday's price talk.

The legislation is likely to end up as part of a larger infrastructure bill.

BJC Health System is selling $805 million of mostly refunding debt with its ratings and balance sheet intact as its manages COVID-19 pandemic wounds.

A bill backed by the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund underscores the fiscal strains created by Chicago's pension underfunding.

Paul Gray, co-founder of IronHold Capital, links the unfunded liability problem to bad public policy decisions and bad hedge-fund actors. Paul Burton hosts (13 minutes).