Bonds

As the election approaches, tax policy issues are moving to the fore including pass-through entity exemptions used to negate the effects of the cap on state and local tax deductions.  “If the SALT cap expires, then you’re going to see some states where they didn’t have this legislation, have to figure out what to do,

Samuel A. Ramirez & Co. has added public finance bankers in three separate offices as it continues to broaden its national reach. Cordelia Mendez joins as a vice president in the New York City office, Ayanna Louis-Charles joins as a senior vice president in south Florida and Courtney Okezie joins as a vice president in

Alabama Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell will take over as co-head of the House Municipal Finance Caucus as Maryland Democrat Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger retires at the end of his term. Sewell will take the caucus helm at a key time as Congress is expected to tackle tax policy next year in a debate that municipal bond

The Chicago Board of Education adopted a nonbinding resolution proposed by Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez declaring a moratorium on school closures through spring 2027 during a heated meeting on Thursday. Thursday’s meeting followed a special meeting last week at which the board unanimously approved a five-year strategic plan that calls for CPS to

California hospitals will get no extra time to retrofit hospitals against earthquakes after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have given them some breathing room. Senate Bill 1432 was approved by lawmakers with unanimous votes in both houses in August. Newsom announced his veto Sept. 12. Under existing regulations, hospitals will be forced

The Louisiana Bond Commission approved the sale of $620 million in aviation revenue bonds and $220 million in sales tax bonds and modified conditions for up to $1 billion in gas and fuels tax bonds it previously authorized. The commission consented to the sale of up to $575 million in general airport revenue refunding bonds

Municipals were steady Thursday as the last large deals of the week priced while municipal bond mutual funds reported the 13th consecutive week of inflows, led by high-yield. Munis were in their own lane, ignoring a mixed U.S. Treasury market while equities rallied. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Thursday was at 64%, the three-year at 64%,

New York Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal bribery, campaign finance and conspiracy charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday. The charges came in a period of heavy borrowing for the city, and how the case develops could influence investor interest, analysts say. “I think people certainly are going to have questions about the

Warren “Bo” Daniels, managing director and head of public finance for Loop Capital, will take over as chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Oct. 1, bringing a three decade career to an organization set to take major steps forward in the coming year. Jennie Bennett, associate vice president for finance at the University of

New Mexico’s Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners approved its biggest-ever issuance of industrial revenue bonds on Tuesday with an up to $942 million conduit deal for a solar cell manufacturing facility. Proceeds from the taxable debt will help finance an 834,000-square-foot facility in the Mesa del Sol industrial development area for Ebon Solar that officials

Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets LLC has brought on three new hires, including one that will open the firm’s first Philadelphia office, as part of its effort to build out its northeast and Texas public finance business. The hires of Jaimie Scranton, Doug Adams and Christopher Dinno follow the firm’s hiring in March of four senior

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives and the Senate both signed off on a continuing resolution that will keep the government open and federal funds flowing to state and local governments.  A bipartisan effort on both sides of the Capitol building was required with a 341 to 82 decision in the House and 78 to

California Controller Malia Cohen released recommendations Wednesday crafted by a task force formed in 2023 to strengthen auditing functions for the state’s charter schools after 11 San Diego charter schools became embroiled in a fraud case. The task force established audit criteria and best practices to detect and curtail charter school fraud following a case

Georgia’s weakening economy and the long-run impact of recent tax cuts are concerns, credit analysts say, albeit ones the state’s triple-A bond ratings may ride out successfully. The state’s unemployment rate has gone up for four consecutive months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The GOP-dominated state government has been cutting the top

Dan Callahan joined UMB Bank’s capital markets division as a senior vice president and public finance banker, the bank announced last week. Based in Austin, Callahan will oversee sales and business development, focusing on “UMB’s continued growth in the Texas municipal market through enhanced offerings in school municipal financing that will deliver sustainable results for

Municipals were steady for another session as the primary market took focus with several large deals seeing yields lowered upon repricing. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities saw losses. The Investment Company Institute reported $1.329 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Sept. 18 after $1.402 billion of inflows the

Almost every state has cut taxes over the past few years, but as the economy returns to normal, budget shortfalls are starting to emerge.  “The past few years have been dominated by tax cuts,” said Richard Auxier,  a principal policy associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “From 2021 to 2023, 48 out of 50 states

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts has released a best practices for the Environmental Protection Agency managed Clean Water State Revolving Funds and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds in a 10-part document detailing what to include on official statements, annual reports and in interim disclosures. That follows the draft best practices NFMA released in July

Law firm Sherman & Howard will merge with Taft effective Jan. 1, in a move aimed at extending their combined public finance geographical reach. The merged group will be positioned to serve public finance clients across an expanded footprint and beyond, the law firms said in a statement.  “With this merger, we are deepening the

Four years into what the Biden administration has dubbed the “infrastructure decade,” and as most experts say the government needs to ramp up investment to fix the nation’s aging roads, bridges and water systems, one academic floats a contrarian view. “America creates and maintains too much infrastructure,” wrote Judge Glock, director of research and a

Meredith Hathorn, chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, will be passing the baton off to Warren “Bo” Daniels at the end of this month, capping off a two year stint on top of a storied four decade career in public finance and public service.  Hathorn served as vice chair under Chair Patrick Brett before