Bonds

The Indiana Finance Authority will head into the market as soon as Tuesday with Indianapolis-based water and wastewater utility refundings using a tender and forward delivery structure popular in the current market to achieve savings. The Indiana Finance Authority serves as conduit the CWA Authority Inc. in an offering of an $80.7 million first-lien wastewater

Municipals were slightly firmer in spots Friday while U.S. Treasuries saw losses, snapping a two-day rally, following stronger-than-estimated consumer sentiment data. Equities were mixed. Municipals largely ignored the moves in Treasuries after underperforming the rally throughout the week. Some of the outperformance municipals have shown over the past few weeks is due to a dearth

UBS Financial Services has been granted preliminary approval to settle a class action lawsuit against it with bondholders for $2.5 million. The settlement stems from charges that UBS allegedly reported tax information incorrectly and cost investors millions, according to the suit.  The bank is accused of not reporting amortizable bond premiums on tax forms that

The Texas Legislature took final action Thursday on a massive property tax cut after beating back attempts in the House to include teacher pay increases and other measures in the bill. Senate Bill 2, which passed the Senate in a 31-0 vote, cleared the House in a 133-4 vote. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who advocated

Property owners fighting Oklahoma Turnpike Authority extension plans blasted the agency in filings this week with the state supreme court, which is nearing a decision on the validity of initial bonds for the $5 billion project. The briefs took issue with OTA’s response last month to questions from the high court concerning the U.S. Bureau

New York City’s capital program will be getting a much-needed bond boost as the New York City Transitional Finance Authority readies a sale of $1.08 billion of future tax-secured subordinate debt. Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund infrastructure projects in the city’s $164.8 billion 10-year capital plan. The fiscal 2024 executive capital

Benjamin S. Wolfe of Short Hills, New Jersey, a former public finance banker passed away on Saturday, July 8, 2023. He was 85. He was born on Aug. 18, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey, to Bertha and Milton Wolfe. He grew up in Newark and graduated from Weequahic High School before earning a bachelor’s degree

Municipals improved again Thursday as U.S. Treasuries extended their rally on more disinflationary economic data while equities were in the black as well. Triple-A yields were bumped two to five basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell as much as 15 basis points at three years. The moves once again led to

Hospital and health system mergers picked up steam during the second quarter, providing signs of a strengthening COVID-19 pandemic recovery and the sector’s heightened attention to the benefits of consolidation as it navigates the pressures bruising margins. Transactions announced for the second quarter rose to 20 involving $13.3 billion of revenues from 15 in the

Congress has begun the work of crafting government funding bills for next year, with House Republicans proposing significant transportation grant funding cuts and blocking any money going to California’s controversial high speed rail project. Local government grant programs also face reductions under GOP 2024 spending targets. With about 25 session days left before the federal

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who called for aggressive interest-rate hikes to fight the recent inflation surge, resigned after 15 years in the position to become dean of a university business school. Bullard, 62, stepped down from his post as head of the bank effective Thursday and will fully depart Aug.

California lawmakers are in negotiations on a bill that would ask voters for $15.5 billion of bond authority to help fill a gap in the state’s plans to spend $54 billion over five years to tackle climate change. The state Senate approved Senate Bill 867 on May 31on a 33-5 vote. The bill, currently in

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved amendments to its money market fund rules, increasing liquidity requirements, and allowing money market funds to suspend redemptions temporarily in efforts to limit runs on money market funds such as  those experienced in 2008 and 2020. The amendments will affect tax-exempt money market funds and the most

Nashville, Tennessee received a series of upgrades from S&P Global this week. The credit agency on Monday boosted Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County’s long-term general obligation debt rating to AA+ from AA. The upgrades also apply to obligations supported by its non-tax revenue. The outlook is stable. The action reflected Nashville’s efforts to “strengthen its

Municipals were firmer Wednesday, but underperformed a U.S. Treasury rally that followed the June consumer price index report showed inflation cooling. Equities ended the session up. Triple-A yields fell up to three basis points while UST saw yields fall by as much as 18 basis points. Ratios rose as a result. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio

The Dodd-Frank Act’s provisions to protect municipal issuers lowered interest costs in the muni market by a significant amount, according to research released Tuesday.  “I estimate that for an average bond issue, Dodd-Frank resulted in about $600,000 in interest cost savings,” writes Ruth Winecoff, assistant professor, public policy at Rutgers University. “For a bond issue

Harvey, Illinois, is targeting an August settlement date in its long-planned tender exchange offer on its defaulted general obligation bonds. The exchange that launched this week would allow investors to shed the bonds’ default status, resolve investor litigation, and give the fiscally troubled Chicago suburb more time to repay its debt. The city posted the exchange

The state of Illinois has reached a tentative $68 million settlement with a group of Wall Street banks accused of fixing interest rates on the state’s variable-rate demand bonds, but the plaintiff that filed the lawsuit called it a “fake settlement” designed to stall a looming trial date. The eight Wall Street banks and Illinois

Borrowers for a revitalization project for Graceland Mansion, the fabled former home and resting place of Elvis Presley, missed another debt service payment at the beginning of the month. Long a tourism magnet for Memphis, Tennessee, Graceland has failed to see visitors return to pre-pandemic levels, and borrowers of bonds issued in 2017 to finance

North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell praised the General Assembly’s override of Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of legislation on environmental social and governance issues. Late last month, the General Assembly overrode the governor’s veto of House Bill 750, which removed political and social considerations from state pension plan investment decisions. “I think the citizens of this

Rising costs, particularly for wages, are pressuring K-12 school districts, colleges and universities, possibly leading to strained budgets, credit negative responses and labor strife, according to Moody’s Investors Service.  While inflation growth has slowed, its effects linger. The consumer price index was up 3% from June 2022 to June 2023, marking the smallest 12-month increase