Washington

Monetary policy targeting a federal funds rate between 1.25% and 1.5% is appropriate, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Monday.

Long-term issuance in the municipal market virtually matched its record high set in 2016, against the backdrop of tax reform that produced an end-of-year flood of volume, but the outlook for 2018 is less rosy.

The power of public employee unions to influence elections and their wage and benefit arrangements could be at stake.

With the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy report sticking to the policies professed in its latest post-meeting statement, markets will look to the question and answer sessions Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell will face from Congress next week.

The plan would expand flexibility and broaden the uses of tax-exempt private activity bonds.

Although large scale asset purchase programs may not be as effective as previously believed, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said Friday, “it is quite likely” that the programs will be needed in the future.

As bond lawyers meeting in Phoenix discussed current topics in securities law and enforcement on Thursday, one theme that emerged was the importance of a smart response to SEC inquiries.

Having vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board makes it “more difficult,” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said Thursday.

About $366 million of bonds are a component of the incentive package Wisconsin offered to land a Foxconn plant.

While there are aspects to the proposal that a municipal professional may admire, it’s not inherently obvious that the shift to a 20/80 split between federal and local funding will produce results.