Bonds

As high-speed rail project sponsors across the country compete for federal infrastructure funds, Republican lawmakers Wednesday urged U.S. transportation chief Pete Buttigieg to reject California’s request for its long-struggling project. “We should work together, you and I, to conduct a full audit of the project before any high-speed grant decisions are made,” Rep. Troy Nehls,

Fitch Ratings downgraded Pennsylvania’s Tower Health Systems after the non-profit regional healthcare system reported continued budgetary shortfalls through fiscal 2023. The rating agency on Tuesday lowered Tower’s long-term issuer rating one-notch to CCC-minus from CCC after its unaudited financial report for fiscal 2023 showed it incurred operating losses of $137 million on the year, a

Puerto Rico-based investor group Ocean Capital gained at least a partial victory against nine Puerto Rico-based investment funds holding municipal bonds, in a ruling touching on issues of disclosure, investment fund shareholder voting, and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico last week granted Ocean Capital’s

Municipals were steady Wednesday as U.S. Treasuries were mixed fiollowing the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates. Equities ended the trading session down. As was expected, the FOMC held rates in a range between 5.25% and 5.50%, but the dot plot in the Summary of Economic Projections showed 12 of 19 members expect another 25-basis-point

An ongoing legal battle over Florida’s attempts to take over the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority isn’t showing signs of abatement. Four years after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on a bill that sought to dissolve the toll road authority, known as MDX, and replace it with the state-managed Greater Miami Expressway Agency, or GMX, both parties

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board now includes hourly updates from Bloomberg’s BVAL AAA Municipal Curve on its EMMA online system, a move the board says seeks to enhance transparency for investors, issuers and market participants. The updated site now shows BVAL AAA Municipal Curve updates hourly between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern, in addition

Voters will determine if Polk County, Iowa will issue up to $350 million of general obligation bonds to help fund a terminal project at the Des Moines International Airport. The county board of supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved placing a bond referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot.  The Des Moines Airport Authority, which can issue

As the green bond market continues to evolve, investors have become more discriminating about what they will purchase. The California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, the educational branch of the state treasurer’s office, has been working to help issuers determine what kind of green bond disclosure will capture market attention. “At CDIAC, we recognize issuing

The public finance industry has put the cart before the horse when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact investment practices. Labels, proprietary investor modeling and data platforms behind paywalls obfuscate the real problem: the data and its contextualization for the public (and investors) to understand the intent behind municipal securities is

The United Auto Workers’ strike against three big U.S. automakers, even if successful, won’t do much to reduce Michigan’s reliance on traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, a report released this week by Moody’s Investors Service says. Rather, the strike “spotlights the carbon transition exposure facing Michigan, Detroit, and certain other local governments in the state as automakers

Municipals were weaker Tuesday as triple-A yields rose in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. Equities ended the session down ahead of the close of the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting Wednesday. Triple-A yields were cut two to seven basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose four to six basis points, pushing the two-,

Moody’s Investors Service revised the outlook on the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority to positive from stable “based on the significant increase in state tax support that will offset the post-COVID ridership losses and structurally balance projected budget gaps.” The positive outlook “reflects the significant improvement in MTA’s financial forecast due to the state-authorized increase

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund is running dry as Congress squabbles over appropriations, opening the possibility that the federal government’s ability to respond to national disasters will be compromised and the burden will shift to state and local budgets.  To avoid that scenario the agency is currently tapping its Immediate Needs Funding

Jena Watson, formerly of HomeStreet Bank, has joined ArentFox Schiff as a partner. Watson, who is based in the San Francisco office, will work in the firm’s Real Estate and Municipal Bond practices. She has nearly 30 years of experience managing project and municipal finance and commercial real estate transactions, including 10 years in senior

California’s revenues for August came in $1.3 billion above projections putting the state $75 million above the $21.9 billion expected for the first two months of the fiscal year, according to the Department of Finance. The revenues of $1.3 billion were 11.1% above the forecast of $12.16 billion, as receipts from nearly all revenue sources

An Iowa state law adopted this year means local governments and school districts will face a new hurdle in issuing municipal bonds. House File 718, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May, decreased the options for municipalities and school districts to hold bond elections. Until now, cities and school districts in Iowa had

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has suspended his state’s gasoline tax for one month as prices at the pump continue to increase. Kemp cited high fuel costs and persistent inflation when he declared a legal state of emergency last week and signed an executive order suspending Georgia’s 31.2 cents-per-gallon tax on gas and 35-cents-per-gallon tax on

Municipal bonds were little changed and lightly traded along with U.S. Treasuries as participants prepare for a lighter muni new-issue week amid the Federal Open Market Committee meetings. Equities were mixed. “Investor confidence has been boosted by outsized yields not seen for more than a decade,” Nuveen Head of Municipals Daniel Close and Chief Investment Officer

California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a pair of big climate-change related announcements this weekend as Climate Week NYC kicked off in New York City. During a Sunday interview at the event, Newsom said he plans to sign into law two bills approved by state lawmakers intended to force major corporations to be more transparent about

The House stopgap funding measure that would keep the government funded through Oct. 31 may be voted on as soon as Thursday, but how Congress deals with its passage has muni advocates and local governments on their toes as to how a larger omnibus bill will be handled later this year. The funding measure that

The Texas Water Development Board is planning a $1 billion bond sale next week to finance water-related projects for local governments as the drought-prone state awaits a November vote on a constitutional amendment to further support water supply infrastructure. The State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas revenue bonds are scheduled to price Sept. 27