Bonds

Maryland Heights, Missouri, forwarded the funds needed to cover a delinquent debt service payment for revenue bonds issued for its community ice arena, but not before triggering a two-notch downgrade that sent its certificates of participation to junk.    The Centene Community Ice Center, which serves as the practice facility for the National Hockey League’s

Bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain approved the Plan of Adjustment for the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority, reducing its debts by 80% and saving it more than $3 billion in debt service payments.   Swain approved the HTA debt plan on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Swain overruled any prior

Moody’s Investors Service raised its outlook on Ohio’s Aa1 rating to positive, citing the state’s strides in branching out into new economic arenas that could bolster lagging growth and weak demographic trends. Tuesday’s action came one month after Fitch Ratings lifted the state’s rating to AAA and on the same day Gov. Mike DeWine announced

Municipals were firmer in secondary trading Wednesday as the largest deal of the week, a $700 million offering from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, took focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries made gains and equities ended mixed after the Federal Open Market Committee minutes signaled continued tightening. “The Fed Minutes showed tightening will continue even

S&P Global Ratings lifted its rating outlook for Massachusetts’ AA-rated general obligation bond debt to positive from stable, citing progress on several long-term fiscal obstacles. The state’s robust economic recovery from the early pandemic led to larger-than-expected tax hauls in 2021 and 2022, funds S&P said Fridaywere used to pay down billions in debt and

The Washington and Oregon governors and the premier of Canada’s British Columbia province have signed a pact joining with California Gov. Gavin Newsom in setting environmental mandates that encourage electric vehicle use, and pledging dollars to investing in EV infrastructure. Newsom, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier John Horgan

Municipals were a touch weaker out long to close out the week while U.S. Treasuries posted losses and equities sold off after hotter-than-expected jobs data. Municipal to UST ratios again fell on the day’s moves. The three-year on Thursday was at 69%, the five-year was at 73%, the 10-year at 82% and the 30-year at

In the age of great resignation, demographic shifts, population loss, and retiring workforce, how is the muni industry planning to face the talent challenge and continue growth? Our panelists will examine some of the strategies they employ to attract and retain talent as well as how they continue to focus their efforts on having diverse

The city of Trenton has found itself in hot water with the state of New Jersey once again. Following a brush with default in August that prompted a state response, a group of local legislators announced on Monday that New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection planned for a limited but “imminent” intervention of its troubled

As we approach a year since the infrastructure law passed, the discussion will center around the plans put in place to use the monies as well as what challenges and opportunities lie ahead. The discussion points will include: The rollout of IIJA   How easy/difficult has it been to receive the money from the government

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said she supports the central bank’s policy-tightening path and that further interest-rate increases and a period of policy restriction will likely be needed to bring inflation down. “With inflation running well above our 2% longer-run goal, restoring price stability likely will require ongoing rate hikes and then keeping policy restrictive

Chief Economist Dr. Lindsey Piegza will look at the current state of the economy amid the ongoing pandemic and what it means going forward for overall growth, interest rates and monetary policy. She will cover macro-economic trends in consumer spending and investment, in addition to new monetary and fiscal policy initiatives and the potential economic

Municipals were little changed to stronger on the short end as U.S. Treasuries saw losses mount and equities closed out the session in the red. Triple-A yields were mixed to firmer on the short end, depending on the yield curve, while UST ended with the largest losses in the belly of the curve. Municipal to

Municipal yields fell Tuesday by as much as 10 basis points out long while U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities rallied. Triple-A yields fell four to 10 basis points across the curve amid robust secondary trading with high-grade names showing clear moves to lower yields. New York City priced $1.35 billion of exempt and

The fate of a planned 16-million-square-foot Georgia factory for electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is in question after a judge denied validation of $15 billion in PILOT bonds planned to back its construction. The Georgia Economic Development Commission, along with the Joint Development Authority for Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties and Rivian, negotiated an agreement

The first green municipal bond was issued nearly a decade ago, but the public finance industry — and California in particular — have been working to take it to the next level. California’s Green Bond Market Development Committee plans to produce recommendations next year on both best practices for issuing green bonds and a method

Iowa and Missouri are among the states turning to permanent tax relief measures with coffers swollen with better-than-projected tax collections. States have varied in how they’ve doled out relief, some offering just one-time breaks, like Illinois, and others enacting permanent changes. The latest cuts from Iowa and Missouri come as fiscal clouds loom, with the

Municipals were little changed Friday to close out a month that saw triple-A yields rise more than three-quarters of a point on the front end, $7.6 billion flow out of mutual funds and issuance fall by 43%. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended in the red after a month of central bank rate hikes,

Citing sustained progress on pension funding and debt reduction, Moody’s Investors Service Friday lifted its rating outlook on New Jersey to positive from stable, while affirming its issuer and general obligation bond ratings at A2. “The positive outlook is supported by the likelihood the state will continue its current practices for managing reserves and long-term

California water and wastewater issuers count among their challenges the recurrence of drought, fundamental modification to the usage rates and patterns of enterprise services post pandemic, and significant capital requirements from a regulatory and reinvestment perspective. Issuers and other sector experts will explore the unique risks facing water and wastewater agencies and how they are