Washington

The longtime muni banker and former Treasury official adds serious muscle to the Fed's municipal securities expertise.

The Federal Reserve is poised to spray trillions of dollars into the U.S. economy once a massive aid package to fight the coronavirus and its aftershocks is signed into law.

"Like all businesses, we are operating in a period of uncertainty which may last several months," Virgin Trains/Brightline President Patrick Goddard said.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pledged Thursday the massive spending bill would pass on a voice vote even though some objections were expected during a Friday morning vote.

Benchmark yields fell another 50 to 60 basis points, dropping them more than 1.5% in just four days. Meanwhile, a $450 million taxable new-issue came to market and was eight times oversubscribed.

Smith, who headed the restructuring practice at Chicago-based McDermott Will & Emery, worked on nearly every major muni bankruptcy of the past 20 years.

Morgan Stanley, Ameritas Investment Company LLC and a former Stifel broker agreed this week to pay the fines for violating multiple muni securities rules.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will maintain its muscular efforts to support the flow of credit in the U.S. economy as Americans hunker down from the coronavirus pandemic.

Municipal benchmark yields were lowered by 60 to 80 basis points across the curve. Some trades pointed to nearly a 1% bump on short-term paper while state and local governments grapple with downgrades and revenue shortfalls.

In the MSRB’s first report showing data from March 24, trades topped 87,215, which is likely a record, said Marcelo Vieira, MSRB director of research.