Bonds

The Biden administration will continue to allocate transportation grant funds in its few remaining months before leaving office, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. Bloomberg News The Biden administration marked Friday’s third anniversary of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by announcing $3.4 billion in fresh grants and pledging to keep the money flowing in the

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green toured the scene of Maui wildfires in August 2023. The disaster slowed visitor growth, rating analysts said.Hawaii Governor’s Office Hawaii will head to market in early December with double-A category ratings affirmed as it prices $750 million of taxable general obligation bonds in a negotiated deal. Recovery of tourism, pivotal to

Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Al Drago/Bloomberg A Federal Reserve official made the case for protecting central bank independence from electoral politics.  In a speech delivered at an economic conference in Uruguay on Thursday morning, Fed Gov. Adriana Kugler said central banks around the world, including the Fed

Oklahoma County is reviewing public-private partnership proposals to help finance a replacement for its troubled downtown Oklahoma City detention center amid rising costs.Oklahoma County Detention Center Oklahoma County is exploring a public-private partnership to help finance a replacement for its troubled jail amid rising costs and a delay in securing a site for the project. 

Transcription: Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record. Mike Scarchilli (00:05):Hi everyone and welcome to the Bomb Buyer Podcast, your trusted source for insights into the world of municipal finance. I’m Mike Scarchilli, editor-in-Chief of the

President-elect Donald Trump during an Economic Club of New York event in New York, US, on Sept. 5, 2024.Bloomberg News A second Trump administration is expected to make some changes, whether big or small to the state and local tax deduction, an issue Trump campaigned on and that has been talked about within the context

<img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20209026/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Election uncertainty and Fed rate cuts have led tax-exempt and taxable money market funds to reach 2024 highs as more market participants have taken a defensive position. As more market stability comes and rates fall, investors may move some of these funds back into fixed income markets, sources say.

Election workers sort mail-in ballots Tuesday in Martinez, California.Bloomberg News California voters were friendly to municipal bonds in Tuesday’s election, with a few notable exceptions. The state’s voters passed two separate $10 billion state bond measures and put their stamp of approval on at least $42.8 billion of local school general obligation bonds. Tuesday’s ballot

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Executive Director Joe Echelle said inflation boosted the cost of every line item in the 15-year ACCESS Oklahoma program.Oklahoma Turnpike Authority The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority authorized on Thursday the issuance of $1 billion of revenue bonds to continue financing the controversial ACCESS Oklahoma expansion program with a projected price tag that has

“We hope to act as a resource to the industry, trying to provide some additional knowledge, research findings that can help the market,” said Martin Luby, the Center on Municipal Capital Markets’ director.University of Texas at Austin The role of capital markets in financing infrastructure is the focus of a university-based center recently launched in

Three-term incumbent Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown lost his seat in a close race Tuesday night. Former President Donald Trump appeared close to re-taking the White House late Tuesday and Republicans won a majority in the Senate while the House remained too close to call. Republicans late Tuesday appeared to take control of the Senate after

Houston Independent School District’s $4.4 billion bond proposal faces opposition in the wake of its 2023 takeover by the Texas Education Agency.Houston Independent School District Texas ballots are bursting with the most bonds among Southwest states in Tuesday’s election, topped by a two-part, $4.4 billion Houston Independent School District proposal that faces bipartisan opposition.  The

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass, would re-take the helm of powerful House Ways and Means Committee if Democrats win the House.Bloomberg News A handful of tight Senate and House elections will determine control of key Congressional committees in Tuesday’s federal election, with the outcome determining the shape of a high-stakes tax policy debate and the next

<img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20096840/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of a week of virtually no supply as all eyes turn to the election and macroeconomic policy. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended up after a weaker-than-expected jobs report. The employment report underwhelmed, with just 12,000 jobs added in October, but observers

The town council in Payson, Arizona, rescinded its Aug. 21 approval of $70 million of tax-exempt bonds in the wake of ongoing litigation and opposition to the debt sale from incoming council members.AdobeStock An Arizona town terminated a plan to sell $70 million of bonds despite prevailing in a lawsuit that claimed the debt’s approval

U.S. home sales declined 2.9% in August, according to Freddie Mac, with existing home sales falling to the lowest level since October 2010.Bloomberg News As housing costs remain high, housing finance agencies in the Midwest are selling bonds to finance mortgage loans to buyers of single-family and multifamily homes. Existing home sales declined in August

Early voting Saturday in Arlington, Virginia. The federal election outcome will impact tax policy and the municipal bond industry.Bloomberg News The key question for municipal market investors heading into next week’s tight federal election is less about who wins and more about by how much. Next year promises to be significant for tax policy and

Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ, his office and his chief of staff were sued alleging they withheld documents related to the state’s anti-ESG law. Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ, his office and his chief of staff and deputy treasurer, Jordan Harvey, were sued last week by an open-records company that accused them of withholding and possibly destroying

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said that while progress on lowering inflation had resumed in recent months, officials aren’t yet ready to declare their mission accomplished.  “We have made good progress, but inflation is still running above the FOMC’s 2% objective,” Hammack said Thursday, referring to the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

State and local governments in the West, Southwest and Southeast are leading the pack in economic growth as some analysts are seeing good times for the municipal bond market.  “We’ve had $40 billion monthly in new issue calendars for the last seven months in 2024,” said Tom Schuette, senior vice president and investment grade credit