Bonds

Houston Independent School District will seek bond authorization for the first time in 12 years after its board of managers voted late Thursday to place a two-part, $4.4 billion debt package on the Nov. 5 ballot. The 9-0 vote came after a lengthy public comment period during which many speakers repeated “No trust, no vote”

When Northeastern University announced its intentions to merge with Mills College in 2021, students attending Mills responded with protest and a series of campaigns to halt what they called an “acquisition” of their beloved institution.  Mills College, a small, historically women’s private school, had announced its intention to close after years of declining enrollment and

California and Oregon are experiencing yet another record-setting year of wildfires. The still-raging Park Fire in northern California, the largest of 12 active fires, has consumed more than 426,000 acres, and is the state’s fourth-largest fire in the past two decades. More than two weeks after an arsonist started the conflagration, it is only 34%

Municipals were weaker Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities rallied. Triple-A yields rose by two to seven basis points while USTs rose four to five as volatility in both markets continued. The past several trading sessions have seen “crazy volatility,” said Jennifer Johnston, director of research of municipal bonds at Franklin Templeton. <img

BayCare Health System, Florida, plans to price $1.3 billion in bonds the week of August 19 through the Hillsborough County Industrial Development Authority. The authority approved the bonds earlier this month. Bond proceeds will reimburse BayCare for prior capital expenditures, fund future capital projects and pay for capitalized interest and costs of issuance. The authority

The public finance desk at Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other Wall Street banks just sidestepped a potential ESG fight in Louisiana. In a quick meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes on Thursday, members of the state’s bond commission approved the firms as part of a

Municipals were weaker Wednesday, as U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended down. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 66%, the three-year at 67%, the five-year at 67%, the 10-year at 66% and the 30-year at 83%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m. EST read. ICE Data Services had the two-year at

Congressional Republicans launched fresh salvos in the partisan battle over environmental, social and governance investment polices last week and Treasury waded into the issue as the debate continues to simmer among the states. The House Republican ESG Working Group on Aug. 1 released a 37-page report titled “The Failure of ESG: An Examination of Environmental,

Following a three-day extended rally, municipals reversed course and were mostly weaker five years and out Tuesday in secondary trading as the primary market took focus with several large deals. U.S. Treasuries sold off and equities rallied. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 64%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 66%, the 10-year

Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her vice president in the 2024 race catapults the former geography teacher, veteran and former Congressman to the national stage and with it, his long track record as a champion for local issues. Walz follows Walter Mondale, vice president to Jimmy Carter, and Hubert Humphrey

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bond parties asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Monday to reject the Oversight Board’s request to rehear the court’s June decision that bondholders have a lien on the authority’s net revenues. While the board’s request delays the bankruptcy, it “has the positive effect of clarifying, in

The California Supreme Court has extended to Sept. 6 its decision to deny or grant review in a case challenging San Jose’s pension obligation bond validation. The high court has at least 60 days to make a decision after a request for review is filed, and that deadline was drawing near in the San Jose

Municipals extended their rally Friday, underperforming U.S. Treasuries which saw yields plummet up to nearly 30 basis points on the short end after a weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report. Equities sold off. Muni yields were bumped nine to 14 basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell 17 to 29 basis points, pushing two-,

Following the receipt of $12 billion from the Biden administration in July of this year, the Gateway Development Commission is seeking to execute an additional $3.8 billion Federal State Partnership grant agreement from the Federal Railroad Administration.   The additional funds will provide the GDC with a cushion with which to facilitate advance payments, as well

Williams College, the liberal arts school sprawled across 450 acres of the Berkshire highlands in Massachusetts, is out to show municipal bond investors the greater value of some higher education debt. The alma mater of former President James Garfield and current U.S. Rugby Olympian Kristi Kirshe plans to sell $108 million of bonds next week

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board shocked the municipal bond market on Tuesday with a proposal that would switch out CUSIP numbers with Financial Instrument Global Identifiers, a marker based on standards developed by Bloomberg.  “It was an opaque process, but we did hear of efforts behind closed doors to expand the scope of FDTA to include

With the launch of several muni exchange-traded funds in recent weeks, there are now just over 100 muni ETFs in the space as firms ramp up their offerings to fill the gap in the marketplace and address the growing demand from clients. “There’s definitely a bit of an arms race out there,” said Brendan McCarthy,

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced yesterday that it has selected three new board members to four-year terms along with the new chair and vice chair that were announced last week. The new public members are Ahmed A. Abonamah, the former chief financial officer and director, Department of Finance, City of Cleveland, and Daniel L. Wiles,

Municipals were firmer Thursday as muni mutual funds saw inflows top $1 billion and issuers were paid $26 billion of principal. U.S. Treasuries rallied and equities sold off. Muni yields were bumped two to eight basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell up to 13 basis points on the short end. The

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has had a difficult summer, and an update on the operating budget gave the board even more bad news. Fare evasion and lower-than-projected real estate-related tax revenues are creating hundreds of millions of dollars of outyear budget deficits. And when the agency factored in lost revenue from congestion pricing,