Muni Think

Despite increased issuance, senior living outperformed comparable bonds in 2015, a trend that is likely to continue.

The Internal Revenue Service is changing the wrong regulation as it seeks to curb the perceived abuse that tax-exempt, governmental purpose bonds are being issued for the impermissible benefit of private developers.

This week we identify the best and worst performing states and highlight the recent spike in the SIFMA Municipal Swap Index.

Instead of prefunding other post-employment benefits, states and cities need to focus on scaling down, and ultimately eliminating this unnecessary and unaffordable benefit.

New best-execution regulations fail to call for or help establish what is missing in the fixed income market – a consolidated quote feed.

In the Flint, Mich., case, Congress seems to be making clear it will increase its criticism of state and local leaders, but avoid any fiscal or moral responsibility.

Bradley Wendt of Charles River Associates provides market context to the MSRB’s 2016 mandate that “best execution,” a hallmark of the taxable fixed income and equity markets, becomes a staple for retail municipal bond investors.

If the decline in Cook County’s population continues, it will make solutions to Chicago’s and Illinois’s fiscal problems more difficult, especially if the decline in population is driven by a desire to escape the tax burden.

After being one of the best performing asset classes last year, municipals have underperformed taxable markets this year.

A New Jersey senator’s proposal to resolve the Puerto Rican economic crisis sets a dangerous precedent by elevating public pensions over the island’s other liabilities and thus undermining the time-honored priority of the general obligation pledge. And with many in the municipal market tiring of the island’s narrative and choosing to ignore the storyline, the consequences could be dire.