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The article discusses proposals by the authors of a paper from Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project to address the need for investments in infrastructure in the U.S. Topics discussed include the proposed revival of the Build America Bond (BAP) program, structural inefficiencies of traditional tax-exempt bonds, and the call for the efficient use of the Army Corps of Engineers. Also mentioned are the proposals to reform the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and the federal gas tax.

The article focuses on the release of paper on the general obligation bonds by the U.S. National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL). It reveals that the priority of the paper is to educate bond lawyers and other market participants about general obligation bonds in the wake of the Detroit, Michigan, bankruptcy filings.

The article focuses on the financial vulnerability of the issuers of the pension obligation bonds (POB) as per the paper released by the researchers at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College in Massachusetts as of July 2014.Topics discussed include use of POBs by governments that can take on the risks of the bonds, improvement in the POBs' rates since the economic recovery following the Great Recession and positive returns for POBs following the financial crises.

The article reports on the plan of the University of Texas System (UTS) to bring its triple-A credit to two bond deals worth a combined 609 million dollars. Information is provided on the areas where proceeds of the sale will be spent, channels used by UTS for issuing debt, total outstanding UTS Permanent University Fund (PUF) bonds and commercial paper notes as of August 31, 2015, PUF net asset value in the quarter ended February 29, 2016, and annual UTS spending on investment in research.

Lower income households benefit more from tax-exempt debt than shown by traditional analyses, researchers at the Urban Institute found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the decline in municipal bonds market in the U.S. in the week of August 2014. Topics discussed include information about the two largest deals including auctioning of 345.2 million dollars of general obligation public improvement bonds by Wake County, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. revenue refunding bonds brought by Siebert Brandford, municipal investment bank.

Coming off the biggest volume week of the year, another steady batch of issuance awaits muni traders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary municipal bond market volume is expected to increase to $6.7 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The muni market firmed up on Monday, ahead of what should be another busy week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The municipal bond market is prepping for around $5 billion of new issuance in the upcoming holiday-shortened week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

They see aggressive assumptions and a failure to tackle long-term problems like pension underfunding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal strategists say intermediate securities, premium bonds with short calls, and investment-grade paper, top their holiday wish lists of must-have securities as 2014 winds down, while they forecast continued steady performance by municipals into early 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on an announcement made by Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) as of August 2014 regarding an agreement between its troubled electric power authority and creditors. Topics discussed include pricing for PREPA's debt, bonds maturing between 2026 and 2044, and effects of tension between Ukraine and Russia on treasury notes of the U.S.

In a working paper paper released by the Volcker Alliance on Wednesday, researchers said states need to do a better job of disclosing their infrastructure needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The municipal bond market sell-off continues on Tuesday, which is good news for buyers but possibly a negative for issuers, according to market participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the U.S. bond market, and states that traders looked for short-term California notes during trading as of September 11, 2014. It mentions that California issued 2.8 billion U.S. dollars of revenue anticipation notes in September 2014, which will mature in June 2015, and states that the deal was priced aggressively at a net interest cost of 0.107%, according to the U.S. Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's disclosure website Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA).

The article informs that Columbus, Ohio is selling 291 million dollars of top-rated general obligation (GO) bonds to raise money for a series of capital projects across Columbus. It mentions that Columbus is selling GO in three categories including unlimited tax GO bonds, limited tax GO bonds, and federally taxable limited tax GO bonds. It further mentions that the debt will be sold in a competitive sale of bonds.

The municipal bond tax exemption saved state and local government borrowers about $715 billion in debt service expenses from 2000 to 2014, according to a white paper issued by the International City/County Management Association and the Government Finance Officers Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NFMA paper focuses on key disclosures from issuers of local government general obligation debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the papers such as "Don't Waste a Free Lunch: Managing the Advance Refunding Option" in the "Journal of Applied Corporate Finance," and "Advance Refundings of Municipal Bonds" in the "Journal of Finance." Topics include the implication of advance refunding, the lack of familiarity with the municipal bond market, and the value of the advanced refunding option (ARO).

Scarce high-yield supply is creating challenges for muni fund managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dearth of state paper bodes well for the sale, says state finance director Sandi Thompson. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to amend its Rule 15c2-12 on municipal bond disclosure and provide more guidance in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) in California has participated in the municipal bond market with a refunding worth 340 million U.S. dollars. Topics covered include the SDCWA's long struggle to build a desalination plant, Gurtin Fixed Income partner Tom Schuette saying that permanent water restrictions announced by the state suggest that drought in California is likely to continue, and the use of reverse osmosis membrane technology by the plant.

Newly minted gilt-edged Union County, N.C., plans to make rare appearances in the bond market this week and in December offering investors high-grade paper options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how New York City Transitional Finance Authority (TFA) establishes a perfect deal structure to take advantage of the lack of short term paper in the market. Topics discussed include oversubscribed institutional sale of the July and April, 2014 bond issuance of the TFA, issuance of multi-model bonds with an optional mandatory tender, and short term issuance of the bonds.

Municipal bonds were stronger on Monday as supply-starved investors awaited the week's planned $4.9 billion of new paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipals were little changed in early activity as the market gets ready to see almost $7 billion of new paper come its way this week, led by issuers from Virginia and Maryland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the increasing costs of pensions in California as of October 6, 2017 which may hinder cities from providing services. Several city officials reportedly voiced out their concerns during board meetings of the California Public Employees' Retirement System and urged the board to help reduce pension costs. These city officials include Kerry Eden who shared their struggles in meeting basic standards due to pensions.

The article discusses the weakening of credit quality and economic boon after the pair of category 4 hurricanes that blitzed parts of Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. Topics discussed include impact of the natural pair of natural disasters including the Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on the U.S. municipal bonds; presents views of Dan Heckman of U.S. Bank concerning the issue; and forecasts the total debt for Florida.

Municipal bond traders were going through the week's new issue supply and putting the paper on their books while looking ahead to next week's new issue slate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tax-exempt financing committee of the American Bar Association's taxation section is working on a paper that will identify for tax regulators modifications to tax rules that could facilitate public-private partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tax reform proposals to curb tax exemption for municipal securities would create uncertainty in the market, possibly lead to higher borrowing costs, and hurt infrastructure development, issuer and borrower groups warned a Senate Finance Committee working group this week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Federal Reserve should delay its first increase in interest rates then raise them more sharply thereafter, according to research by a group of economists including Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Ethan Harris of Bank of America Corp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the National Federation of Municipal Analysts has requested charter schools in the U.S. to provide comprehensive financial, academic, and staffing information in primary and secondary disclosure documents. The best practices document aims to assist investors, charter schools, underwriters, and their counsel.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams voiced concerns that inflation expectations may have slipped downward after years in which price rises have failed to reach the central bank's 2% target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A market indicator watched by the Fed as one of the most accurate gauges of economic health is pricing in lower rates for the first time in more than a decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal bond buyers will get another chance to get some Massachusetts and Texas paper as both issuers head into the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the U.S. National Association of Bond Lawyers' (NABL) agenda for 2017 will be the tax exemption of municipal bonds, issue price, political subdivisions and disclosure. Cliff Gerber, President of the NABL said that the biggest challenge may be the viability of the tax exemption and whether there are impairments to the tax exemption.

Market participants are increasingly contemplating the impact of Illinois potentially losing its investment-grade ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small south Florida city of Opa-locka, recently designated by the state to be in a financial emergency, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Miami Herald. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is urging tax regulators to liberalize existing safe harbors for longer term management and service contracts and to consider rule changes to facilitate the use of tax-exempt bonds in public-private partnerships financing infrastructure projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fund manager Andy Chorlton evaluates market indicators to see where interest rates could go as he seeks to maximize after-tax returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The market for Florida debt is holding up in the face of a possible government shutdown, while the Chicago market is being penalized with wider spreads, higher yields, and a swell in bid-wanted lists after being downgraded to junk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapter 9 guru James Spiotto says states are increasingly realizing the importance of early intervention in their distressed cities to avoid the crisis of a municipal bankruptcy where everyone loses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congress should consider raising motor fuels taxes to shore up the dwindling Highway Trust Fund, a bipartisan grassroots group advocating responsible fiscal policy said this week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ottawa County, Mich., is bringing $29 million of gilt-edged federally taxable bonds to market on Wednesday to pay off a chunk of its unfunded pension liability, the first of several similar deals that may be on the horizon from local Michigan issuers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active cooperation between the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury Department on debt management would put the central bank's monetary policy independence at risk, said Fed Governor Jerome Powell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of new California law requiring municipal debt issuers to disclose their bank loans on the municipal market and state issuers, according to a research paper from Municipal Market Advisors (MMA). According to MMA, research and advisory firm, the law would provide a more informed municipal market as investors will have better credit knowledge of California issuers.

The article focuses on the economic aspects of general obligation deals between the Empire State building in New York and New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as of August 2014. Topics discussed include inclusion of 2015 Series A and B bonds in a 900 million dollars New York City general obligation deal, issuance of 833.785 million dollars in consolidated bonds by the Port Authority, and impact of debts associated with New York City and its Port Authority on buyers.