Washington

The future accessibility of private activity bonds and stadium bonds is the massive tax bill's gift to the municipal market this holiday season. However, the bill also brings coal in the form of a year-end halt to advance refundings and a drop in the corporate tax rate.

As the exact language of the final tax legislation looms, municipal market participants eager wait to see how it pertains to private activity bonds, there will be $11 billion of issuance awaits as issuers make one final push.

Concern that “persistent factors” rather than “transitory ones” could be keeping inflation low pushed Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles L. Evans to dissent on the Federal Open Market Committee vote on the federal funds rate Wednesday.

Industrial production grew 0.2% in November, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The municipal bond market will be hurt less than expected by the tax bill with the retention of private activity bonds, but will still be hurt by the loss of advance refundings and the huge reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21%.

FINRA said Philip Fluegge violated its rules when he sold shares in municipal fund securities.

Republicans, however, are still negotiating the PAB provisions and have been considering eliminating the ability of issuers to carry forward for up to three years any of their unused allocations of PABs, as well as scrapping some smaller categories.

St. Louis is moving closer to borrowing to help finance upgrades the arena that hosts the Blues hockey team.

A gradual path of rate increases is likely to remain warranted, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen reiterated Wednesday, noting that she is “personally concerned” about U.S. debt level.

The Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds target rate 25 basis points to a range of 1.25% to 1.50%, the Fed announced Wednesday.