Muni market groups got a long-awaited win when the House on Tuesday passed banking legislation classifying certain munis as high-quality liquid assets, even if it wasn't as big a win as hoped.
Federal Reserve officials said the economic outlook warranted another interest-rate hike “soon” and signaled they would welcome a modest overshoot of their 2% inflation target, indicating they're in no rush to tighten more aggressively.
The bank deregulatory bill passed by Congress on Tuesday would also make fewer banks systemically important and close a legal loophole that had allowed banks to defraud Puerto Rico investors.
Early returns indicate there have been some problems but firms seem to be working through them in complying with the new markup rules, regulators and industry officials said Tuesday.
Lawmakers in the 27-member Florida delegation in the House are divided about whether more private-activity bonds should be used for Brightline's 235-mile passenger rail line.
The IRS is focusing on $435.2 million of Series 2014A senior lien revenue refunding bonds and $75.87 million of Series 2014C second lien revenue refunding bonds.
Rising short-term rates and a lower corporate tax rate have already pushed some municipal issuers out of bank loans and back into the traditional muni space, analysts said.
Facing a May 31 deadline to issue the $1.15 billion of PABs, All Aboard Florida asked the federal transportation agency for extra time to sell the debt.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester warned against dismantling core reforms that have made U.S. banks better able to withstand a financial crisis.
