Ransomware group LockBit threatened on Sunday to publish the stolen data Tuesday evening. Ransomware experts said it was likely that the group was bluffing.

Finance officials for the city decided to be the first municipal issuer to use the distributed ledger technology for a $10 million deal, banking on cost savings, better liquidity and more access for retail investors to their bonds. Mayor Tom Koch, CFO Eric Mason and Strategic Asset Manager Rick Coscia say it should be the first of many deals for the industry.

Broker-dealer Millennium will provide clients with real-time pricing and trade execution capabilities by connecting directly to the Investortools Dealer Network, or IDN.

Columbus' technology modernization push has embedded artificial intelligence functionality into its payroll, revenue and accounting and operations systems.

Marty Mannion and Matt Schrager, managing directors and co-heads at TD Securities Automated trading division, discuss how automation and electronic trading are creating more opportunities and better outcomes for municipal market participants, including making muni bonds more accessible to a broader range of investors.

Rating agencies approve of AI-managed infrastructure and trading desks are automating.

"The industry is built on relationships, and it's powered by technology," said Josh Rosenblum, head of algorithmic trading at Brownstone.

CDIAC's revamped website, which launches May 1, will offer accessibility to state and local debt from issuance through maturity and the ability to create summary reports based on search features.

"Just like the ATM became an additional transaction channel in the banking industry, I believe distributed ledger technology will provide municipal issuers with a similarly valued tool to sell their bonds," said Rick Coscia, Quincy's Strategic Asset Manager.

With cyberattacks on the rise, issuers have had to keep fortifying their defenses against criminals targeting the public sector. 

While the SEC's cybersecurity rule does not apply to municipal issuers, there are a few points discussed in the Adopting Release that may be useful for municipal market participants. 

New laws, fines and agencies leveraging AI are poised to impact the munis industry throughout 2024.

Chad Wildman, executive director, Quantitative Strategies at FMSbonds, and Matthew Smith, founder and CEO of Spline Data, discuss how automation has repositioned the muni market and where participants can find value by using technology tools. Lynne Funk hosts. (45 minutes)

The goal behind SOLVE's new product is to turn raw data into data-driven insights through AI, with munis being the first step before expanding to other key asset classes in fixed income, said Eugene Grinberg, co-founder and CEO of SOLVE.

There were several ways Adaje could integrate ficc.ai's offerings into its system, the most impactful would be tender offering analyses, said Dan Silva, Adaje CEO.

The Fed, financial markets, the upcoming election and AI took center stage on at the Executives' Club of Chicago's Annual Economic Outlook panel.

Arbitrage is in play, IRS budget boost is uncertain, stepped-up enforcement concerns remain

Anne Marie Pippin, associate director in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Office of Financial Technology, weighs the forces shaping the industry's future.

The project was to have been the first small modular reactor technology in the U.S.

The municipal dashboard solves three challenges: bond linkage, pricing and spread aggregation.