Muni Think

Many analysts expect school districts over the next two years to lose $200 billion in revenue, driving roughly 300,000 teacher layoffs.

Eve Lando tells the story of Thornburg Investment strategy in the time of COVID while raising a family in quarantine.

As an industry, we must speak persuasively with one voice and impress upon the administration and Congress that there is no substitute for the golden, reliable friends of our industry’s past.

One of the shortcomings of the environmental, social and governance discussion is that investors put talk before action. New York provides an opportunity to get the sequencing right.

Most significantly, sectors of the municipal market that were stressed prior to the pandemic due to underlying long-term trends will face significant challenges.

School financing still represents a relatively significant proportion of bond issuance. Cynics would say that given the strong market conditions, school paper will sell at tight spreads regardless of all the noise surrounding the sector.

There is a substantial risk of downward pressure on state and local credit quality that is not currently incorporated in municipal bond market ratings or valuations.

A Fed takeover of municipal lending is a weighty policy decision fraught with dangers that should not be inadvertently or capriciously back-doored into existence during a pandemic.

Especially helpful is the MSRB’s weekly report aggregating disclosures made to the EMMA website that describe the impact of COVID-19 on state and local governments’ financial condition and operating status.

There is absolutely no good reason why, 10 years after Dodd-Frank was enacted, the MSRB has not rationalized its fee structure.