Bonds

Illinois plans to sell up to $2.5 billion of general obligation debt before the fiscal year closes June 30 in its first primary market outing to benefit from upgrades that put two of its ratings in single-A territory. The state plans to sell up to $1.5 billion of new money and is eyeing another up

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the City Council paid tribute last week to longtime Chicago Civic Federation President Laurence Msall for his work over two decades holding government leaders’ feet to the fire on fiscal management practices. Msall died unexpectedly Feb. 4 at 61 after heart surgery. Msall took over in 2002 as president of

The Securities and Exchange Commission has added a section to its 18-part frequently asked questions page to help registered municipal advisors complete Forms MA, MA-I and MA-NR. “In our efforts to make the municipal advisor registration process as transparent and efficient as possible, the Office of Municipal Securities published new staff guidance to address common

Too much fiscal stimulus ($6.3 trillion) combined with widespread global lockdowns disrupted the fragile economic balance. Too much stimulus hampered a recovery by reducing the percentage of the population willing/needing to work which fueled labor shortage induced inflation. A fiscal solution was needed to solve this core source of supply-shortage-related inflation. Specifically, legislation that focused

President Joe Biden Monday followed through on his promise to veto a Congressional resolution that repealed a new labor rule allowing retirement plan managers to consider climate change and other environmental, social and governance risk factors in their investment decisions. “I just signed this veto because the legislation passed by the Congress would put at

Transcription: Yvette Shields (00:03):Welcome to another Bond Buyer podcast. I’m Yvette Shields and I lead coverage of the Midwest from Chicago. Joining me for a chat about Illinois’s finances is the state Comptroller, Susana Mendoza. Welcome Susana.  Susana Mendoza (00:17):Thank you, Yvette. Wonderful to be with you.  Yvette Shields (00:20):I appreciated that. And so a

Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to ban the use of a central bank digital currency in Florida and called on other like-minded states to do the same. Saying he supports laws to prevent the federal government from watching and controlling people’s finances, DeSantis called on the Legislature Monday to pass a bill that would ban the

Municipals were steady Monday ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, while U.S. Treasury yields rose as investors considered the stability of the banking sector. Equities ended up. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed, no more than a basis point or two, while U.S. Treasury yields rose five to 12 basis points. The two-year muni-UST

The Virgin Islands Superior Court ruled the territory’s Senate has the power to alter the Water and Power Authority’s board of directors, a decision one municipal bond analyst called a credit positive. The court upheld a Senate bill requiring board members to have greater expertise in energy, technology, economics, and finance; reducing the number of

After turning down several chances to legalize sports betting this year, Georgia lawmakers will face another vote on the matter before the end of the legislative session on March 29. The Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee voted 8-1 on Thursday to amend an existing bill designating a local soapbox derby race as the state’s

Cascade County, Montana, will price $250 million in green revenue bonds Tuesday for Montana Renewables, LLC. The county is the conduit issuer for the tax exempt solid waste disposal and sewage facilities revenue bonds, subject to the alternative minimum tax, that will be repaid by Montana Renewables, a company that converts waste products into transportation

A group of Washington lawmakers from New York and New Jersey have formed a caucus to force the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to hit the brakes on its first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan. The governors of the neighboring states are also weighing in as the Biden administration decides whether to approve the plan. House Representatives Josh Gottheimer,

The ongoing efforts in Congress to tweak the state and local tax deduction limit added a new chapter as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, re-introduced the SALT Deduction Fairness Act last week, legislation which seeks to double the deduction to $20,000 for married filers. Currently the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted by single

The American Rescue Plan Act’s “offset provision” may be tested in the nation’s highest court, after Ohio petitioned the Supreme Court to hear its case against Janet Yellen and the Department of Treasury’s provision that bars states from using federal relief funds to offset reductions in tax revenue. That’s the latest in the multi-state battle

Bills seeking to restrict or expand municipal bond issuance and rein in debt practices are on the menu for Texas lawmakers during the legislative session that commenced in January and wraps up in late May.  Numerous bond-related measures are among a record 8,153 bills and joint resolutions introduced in the Republican-controlled legislature by a March

EDITORS’ PICKComplimentary access to top ideas and insights — curated by our editors. The Bond Buyer is excited to announce the return of the Hall of Fame of municipal finance for a second class of inductees, alongside the eighth annual class of Rising Stars, a program which showcases the brightest young minds in this industry.

Unlike recent Federal Open Market Committee meetings, where the market knew what to expect, this week’s could go one of several ways, analysts said. “Economist and market projections of the likely path of the Fed funds rate are all over the map and appear to be shifting dramatically on a daily basis,” said Scott Anderson,

Municipals were firmer in spots to end a chaotic week that saw triple-A benchmarks both follow U.S. Treasuries in a flight to quality and ignore UST movements — as munis did on Friday for the most part — as the banking sector crisis continued. USTs rallied and equities sold off Friday. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped

Regional leaders in the Northeast kept up high-profile efforts to show support for local entities facing challenges after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank in California and Signature Bank in New York. Despite federal measures to backstop all deposits, even those higher than the $250,000 deposit insurance limit, the failure of the California bank, which

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed an independent watchdog within the California Energy Commission to monitor the state’s petroleum market on a daily basis. The proposal represents a shift from his plan to place a cap on oil company profits, though it would give the commission more authority to investigate gasoline price spikes and the

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Federal Reserve shouldn’t be spooked into easing its campaign to contain inflation out of excessive concern about a credit crunch in the wake of the recent banking turmoil. “It would be very unfortunate if, out of solicitude for the banking system, the Fed were to slow down its