Bonds

Deploying greater use of bond financing to cure the county’s affordable housing shortage is getting a fresh look in the Senate via the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act. The bill, which was introduced Tuesday, is cosponsored by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. and Bill Cassidy, R-La. The legislation takes aim at expanding the use of mortgage

Preston Hollow Community Capital and Nuveen expect to close next month on a deal giving Nuveen a stake in its smaller rival in the high-yield muni space. The investment featured prominently in a settlement ending PHCC’s four-year-old legal pursuit of Nuveen for using what one judge labeled as “lies” and “threats” to damage its access

Gov. Kay Ivey made Alabama the latest GOP-dominated state to enact a law designed to limit the application of environmental, social, or governance factors by private sector businesses. SB261, which took a little under a month to make it from committee proposal through the Republican-dominated state legislature to the governor’s desk, seeks to shield some

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders say they are owed $8.5 billion and the timeframe of being able to collect on their claim should continue in perpetuity. That was a central point of contention during Tuesday’s PREPA bond claim estimation hearing during which lawyers for the bondholders and the Oversight Board argued about what the

Municipals were little changed to weaker in spots Wednesday, while U.S. Treasuries sold off after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates and equities ended mixed. Triple-A benchmarks were cut up to three basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose four to 10 basis points. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at

Municipals were firmer in spots, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker on the front end of the curve and equities closed the session in the black. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped up to five basis points on the short end, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose up to four basis points 10 years and in.

House Republicans on Tuesday sharply criticized responses from the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury, taking the agencies to task for rate hikes that they said damaged the municipal and other markets, thwarted transparency, and cracked the banking system.     The comments came during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. The discussions included

The New York City Housing Development Corp. is coming to market this month with $891.75 million of bonds to help back construction of much-needed new housing projects in the city. The NYC HDC plans to issue $641.75 million of Series 2023A-1, 2023A-2 and 2022G multi-family housing revenue bonds not subject to the alternative minimum tax

Indiana University Health heads into the market this week with a $726 million transaction to provide ongoing financing for the system’s new hospital campus under construction in downtown Indianapolis. The bonds are selling through the Indiana Finance Authority in three tranches with a $325 million fixed-rate series, $300 million selling as put bonds with five-to-10

Municipals were slightly firmer Friday, outperforming a U.S. Treasury selloff after a hotter-than-expected jobs report. Equities rallied. Triple-A yields were firmer by up to four basis points while Treasuries were weaker by up to 15 on the short end. Short ratios fell as a result. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Friday was at 66%, the three-year

Struggling with declining enrollment, Oregon’s Portland State University had its outlook revised to negative by Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $193 million of outstanding debt. Enrollment declined by more than 20% over the past six years, and expectations of continued declines over the next four years at the downtown Portland university were cited by Moody’s in

AES Puerto Rico, a firm that supplies about 21% of the electricity transmitted by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, defaulted Thursday, missing an $18 million interest and principal payment on outstanding municipals it priced through a conduit in 2000. In a notice to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA site on Friday, AES Puerto

Reinvestment needs will top new-issue supply by about $30 billion from June to August, which should boost the asset class after May’s atypical losses. Reinvestments, which includes maturities, called bonds and coupons, total over $114 billion over the next four months, according to ICE Data. While June often begins softer as investors assess how new-issue

The Austin City Council on Thursday approved an $88 million settlement with an airport terminal operator that will allow a largely bond-financed expansion and development program at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to move forward with a midfield concourse project.  The settlement paid with airport revenue will end litigation against the city by LoneStar Airport Holdings,

Less than a month before New York City faces a deadline for a balanced budget agreement, Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council seem as far apart as ever over the need for either increased spending or more cuts. By law, the mayor and council must agree on a balanced budget by July 1. Last

Municipals were firmer Thursday as the June reinvestment period began, providing some additional support. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended up a day after the House passed a bill to increase the debt limit, quelling some market concerns about a U.S. default. Municipals continued to ride the positive momentum from USTs as triple-A yields

Two Missouri-based hospital operators, BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke’s Health System, are the latest to join the trend of large-system mergers. The two signed a letter of intent to form an integrated not-for-profit Missouri-based health system Wednesday. The systems will work to reach a definitive agreement “in the coming months” with a closing anticipated by the

Pending state legislation that boosts Milwaukee’s revenue raising prospects falls short of what the city needs to manage rising pension and other costs, Fitch Ratings said in cutting the city’s general obligation bond rating by two notches. Fitch dropped the rating Tuesday to BBB-plus from A and warned of the potential for further deterioration by

Despite a cloudy national economic forecast, officials in Atlanta expect a warm welcome from the municipal marketplace for their planned housing bond sale. Pending a vote in the largely supportive Atlanta City Council, the city will come to market in early to mid-summer with $100 million of bonds by negotiated sale, one of several expected

Municipals were firmer Tuesday as U.S. Treasuries rallied on improved chances that Congress will raise the debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. default. Equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields fell three to 10 basis points, depending on the scale, underperforming U.S. Treasuries, which improved by five to 14 basis points with the largest gains on the