Tax-exempt bonds

The snub could become more important next year when Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions expire and tax issues take center stage at Congress.

In "my nearly 50 years in finance, I've never seen more demand for energy infrastructure," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in his latest investor letter.

Citi's exit comes amid the larger trend of broker-dealers downsizing balance sheets, which can hurt secondary market liquidity, particularly in times of stress. Other market players are coming into the fold.

The traditional tax exemption "does take some of the volatility out," said Mark Ritacco, chief government affairs officer for the National Association of Counties.

A 2017 issuance is in danger of losing its tax-exempt status.

A call to action for the $4 trillion municipal bond market.

It's the second try for the bill, which Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., first introduced in 2021.

While some reliable options have emerged, market professionals remain hopeful the old advance refunding will return before the desire to bring it back loses any momentum.

With around 30% of bonds trading near the de minimis threshold, a new study takes a deep dive into how the rule drives illiquidity as mutual funds dump paper that's approaching the threshold.

The agency has already begun hiring new staff and preparing for an $80 billion dollar agencywide influx of funding.

Issuers should expect to see an increased presence of IRS agents as the service's Tax-Exempt Bond office completes a round of hiring and the IRS budget grows.

Partisan politics is playing a larger role in public finance, flaring up into bickering more often than in the past.

Vern Buchanan appears to lead the way, but recent moves by Jason Smith to appeal to more GOP leaders make the race for chair of the Ways and Means Committee a tight one.

Municipal market participants are gaming out post-election scenarios that pose opportunities and risks for budgets and portfolios.  

The dispute now includes an appeal over a ruling about documents not returned after a FOIA request.

The Inflation Reduction Act's changes are significant enough that they will be featured in the banner at the top of the offering statement.

The Internal Revenue Service has reinstated Ham Lake, Minnesota based charter school operator Parnassus Building Company's tax-exempt status after it was revoked in May 2022.

Brokers should be aware that inaccurate tax reporting could force its brokerage clients to seek damages and could force dealers to make their clients sign a liability waiver, as the recent muni case Richard Goodman v. UBS Financial Services highlights.

The respected muni tax expert died unexpectedly Aug. 14.

The MSRB has released a mid-year research report showing the sharp decline of taxable issuances, significant outflows from mutual funds and a particularly fruitful last few months for individual investors.