Bonds

Moody’s Investors Service raised the outlook on Guam to positive from stable on Thursday. The outlook is on the Ba1 rating of the territory’s general obligation, special tax rating, and the Ba2 rating on its certificates of participation rating, all of which were affirmed. The improved outlook stems from Guam’s improved financial position resulting from

New York officials are looking with caution as the fallout from the Signature and Silicon Valley Bank failures casts a pall over budget negotiations. Both the city and the state are working on their fiscal 2024 budgets. The state’s fiscal year begins April 1 while the city’s starts on July 1. Amid rising inflation and

Wisconsin’s Republican legislative majority delivered its latest rebuke to Gov. Tony Evers’ biennial spending plan with their rejection of the Democrat’s $3.8 billion capital plan. The State Building Commission — which includes Evers, four Republican members, two Democrats, and a citizen voting member — rejected all of Evers’ line items at its meeting Thursday in

Republican senators Thursday urged Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to restore regular funding for a handful of popular transportation grant programs that President Biden’s fiscal 2024 budget leaves on the chopping block. Buttigieg appeared before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies subcommittee Thursday to defend Biden’s $6.9 trillion 2024

Despite an influx of infrastructure spending, the nation’s airports are being squeezed by the costs of servicing existing debt and the need to modernize their operations. The challenges were laid out in detail during a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization hearing held by the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Thursday.  “There’s $30

Municipals were slightly firmer in spots, while U.S. Treasuries extended their rally once more and equities ended up. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 65%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 69% and the 30-year at 93%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the

German automaker Volkswagen is set to receive $1.3 billion in state aid under an economic development deal signed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday, backing the construction of a new electric-vehicle production plant 20 miles north of the capital, Columbia. The $2 billion planned factory will produce electric vehicles under the Scout nameplate,

Flint, Michigan’s fiscal condition remains stable but fragile with some positive signs on the horizon as its citizens move closer to receiving compensation for the 2014 water contamination crisis, with a $600 million state-backed settlement clearing its final legal hurdle. Following federal court approval in 2021 and an appellate affirmation last week, Genesee County Circuit

The judge in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy ruled bondholders had no lien on the authority’s revenues, which could result in bondholders recovering as little as 0.21% of their principal. The Puerto Rico Oversight Board has introduced a plan of adjustment where that would be the payout if the judge ruled the bondholders

A bill prohibiting state and local government contracts with large banks that “discriminate” against the firearm industry cleared the Republican-controlled Oklahoma House Wednesday as lawmakers try again to enact a ban. Ahead of the 74-19 vote, House Bill 2218 was amended to apply only to financial institutions with at least $50 billion in assets. For

The Biden administration will need to cover a significant new funding gap if California’s controversial bullet train is to remain on track. But it’s unclear whether federal support, if it materializes, would be sufficient to overcome the tough economic environment, political opposition on state and federal levels and constantly rising costs that dog the nation’s

Wall Street has worked itself into a lather debating the merits of regulators’ proposal to impose retail auctions as part of a broader U.S. stock-trading overhaul. But the Securities and Exchange Commission’s best-execution proposal, largely dismissed as duplicating an existing Financial Industry Regulatory Authority edict, could have wide-ranging implications for trading firms in options, bonds,

Whether the not-for-profit hospital sector earns its exemptions from taxes and the related ability to issue tax-exempt debt takes center stage in a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. The foundation’s report values the benefits of tax-exempt status for hospitals at nearly $12 billion more than the amount of discounted and free care they provided in

Municipals were mixed Wednesday as U.S. Treasuries rallied following the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to hike rates a quarter point. Equities sold off. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 64%, the three-year at 65%, the five-year at 67%, the 10-year at 69% and the 30-year at 93%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET

Austin transit officials offered scaled-down options for a partly bond-financed light rail system Tuesday as escalating costs pressure the project financially and politically.  The Austin Transit Partnership, which was created by the city and its Capital Metro Transportation Authority to build Project Connect, unveiled five, lower-cost options for the system. “This is an exciting day

South Carolina lawmakers are moving to remove the state’s elected comptroller from office after a $3.5 billion accounting blunder went unnoticed by his office for a decade. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom is facing removal by a legislative vote this month for “willfully neglecting his duties” aftera state investigation into his office concluded he was responsible

The Washington state Senate’s capital construction budget would nix Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to issue $4 billion in housing bonds to spur construction and expedite efforts to lessen the state’s housing crisis. In December, Inslee released a housing proposal as part of his budget that included placing a referendum on the ballot for the bonds,

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders asked a magistrate to intervene on discovery issues but were rebuffed. Magistrate Judith Dein, who is handling discovery matters, denied the request because the Oversight Board said it was still considering bondholders’ discovery requests. She ordered the sides to continue to negotiate, with the bondholders filing a status report

Municipals were little changed Tuesday, while U.S. Treasuries extended their sell-off and equities rallied. The two-year muni-UST ratio was at 60%, the three-year at 60%, the five-year at 63%, the 10-year at 66% and the 30-year at 91%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the two at 64%, three

Municipal bonds remain a viable, high-quality source of liquidity for banks, experts say, although they are divided about whether the collapse of two regional banks will curtail or eliminate the sector’s ownership of municipal bonds. Following the collapse of California-based Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 and New York-based Signature Bank on March 12, experts

Charter school revenue bonds issued for northern California-based Summit Public Schools were downgraded three notches to Ba3 from Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service and their outlook was revised to negative from stable. The rating change affected $22.6 million in charter school revenue bonds sold by the Redwood City-based charter school system. “The downgrade to Ba3 reflects the