Bonds

The Virginia General Assembly is set to pass a new budget next week after a saga that saw the state’s Republican governor and the Democratically controlled legislature clash over environmental issues, school funding, and pay-fors.     Although the budget deal still needs to be officially approved during the special session that begins Monday, Gov. Glenn

Chicago’s iconic lakefront is also its portal to water supplies from Lake Michigan, serving not only the city but 120 of its suburbs. But Chicago’s top suburban customer and Illinois’ largest water wholesaler, the DuPage Water Commission, now says it plans to strike out on its own. The commission revealed this week that it has

The long-planned Kentucky-Ohio Brent Spence Bridge won environmental approval from the Biden administration Friday, a “major milestone” for the bistate project that’s been in planning for more than 10 years. “This is an important step forward in bringing efficiency to our nation’s supply chain,” said said Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. “The project will address one

Current strategies to deploy public and private capital toward a green energy transition are experiencing mixed success, amid conflicting trends as both global oil demand and clean energy deployment rates rise together, according to panelists at the Milken Institute’s Global conference this week in Beverly Hills. “As many folks know, we aren’t doing that well

Municipal Market Analytics said municipal bond impairments from January through April were the highest since they began tracking in 2009, with the charter school sector totaling most impairments. MMA recorded 63 impairments this calendar year, with 59 of them coming in January to April, according to Wednesday’s issue of Default Trends. The four-month total was

Municipal triple-A yield curves were little changed Wednesday as the primary market demanded investor attention and were well received. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, and equities ended mixed. Several large new-issues priced led by $1.018 billion of the University of Chicago revenue bonds from the Illinois Finance Authority (Aa2/AA-/AA+/), with yields bumped seven to 15 basis

The California Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case brought by the state’s Democratic leaders that would block a sweeping anti-tax measure from November’s ballot. The initiative, called the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (TPA), would amend the California constitutional rules governing how the state and local governments can impose taxes, fees and

Municipals were firmer in secondary trading as the primary market took focus, led by the accelerated pricing of $1.8 billion general obligation bonds from Illinois. U.S. Treasury yields fell out long and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 64%, the three-year at 63%, the five-year at 61%, the 10-year at 60%

Municipal issuers have seen more upgrades this year than downgrades, continuing a trend that began in 2021, while the overall rated universe of muni issuers has also grown. If current economic conditions persist, the trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future, market participants said. The total rated share of the market increased in the

Citing Arkansas’ “financial resiliency,” S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on the state’s AA general obligation bond rating to positive from stable. The rating agency’s action Thursday came ahead of the state’s sale of about $30 million of water, waste disposal and pollution abatement facilities GO bonds. “S&P’s improved outlook for the state from ‘stable’

Municipals improved Monday in constructive secondary trading as investors await the larger new-issue slate. U.S. Treasuries were mixed while equities made gains. Triple-A curves saw yields fall two to three basis points while USTs were a touch weaker on the short end and a bit firmer out long. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Citi’s exit from the municipal bond market in December 2023, and UBS’s exit from the negotiated underwriting business in October 2023, have inspired many firms, from Piper Sandler to Huntington National Bank, to scoop up talent from the two organizations, seeing an

All markets rallied on the weaker jobs data, leading municipals to see yields fall up to eight basis points on what typically is a quiet Friday session, following a better-performing U.S. Treasury market. Equities closed in the black. The softer-than-expected April employment report led to some analysts believing this could put rate cuts back on

Oklahoma’s list of investment banks determined to be “boycotting” the fossil fuel industry expanded with the addition of Barclays, making it ineligible for state and local government contracts, State Treasurer Todd Russ announced Friday.  Barclays joins Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo, which were placed on the list last year under the state’s

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green failed to convince lawmakers to consider legislation that would have allowed struggling Hawaii Electric Co. to issue bonds backed by a rate increase. Senate Bill 2922, introduced by Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Chair Jarrett Keohokalole, would have allowed HECO to issue up to $2.5 billion in low-interest bonds, if it

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board warned the government it will sue to stop a recently passed law that would reduce Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority revenues for the next 26 years by preventing a change in the net metering policy. In a letter to Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, Senate President José Dalmau Santiago, and

As Florida’s Brightline passenger train floated its first investment-grade and insured bonds in a high-profile transaction last week, a key part of the deal for insurer Assured Guaranty was the control it would have if the issuer runs into debt payment trouble. Assured wraps $1.13 billion, or 51%, of the $2.219 billion of senior bonds

Municipals were slightly firmer Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were better to close the session. Municipal bond mutual funds saw another week of inflows as investors added $515.5 million for the week ending Wednesday after $200.3 million of inflows the week prior, according to LSEG Lipper. High-yield funds also saw inflows to

Federal funding programs that rely on public private partnerships and championed by the Department of Transportation are pushing municipalities into hard comparisons of P3’s to traditional bond offerings.   “The amount of time that I spent on bond issuance was about twenty minutes spent signing the paperwork and maybe ten minutes with the CFO telling me

The first piece of a general obligation bond authorization for a new Des Moines, Iowa, airport terminal is coming to market. The county is issuing $113 million of general obligation capital loan notes, Series 2024A, on behalf of the Des Moines Airport Authority. The debt will finance the design, construction and equipment of a new