The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has added five new members to its board, as well as elected officers for its 2024 fiscal year, bringing Meredith Hathorn on for another term as chair and electing Ernesto Lanza, of counsel for Ballard Spahr and formerly of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as chief regulatory and policy officer.
Bonds
The investment grade of $1.2 billion of private activity bonds issued for an automated people mover train at Los Angeles International Airport is threatened. Amid delays and disputes between the airport and the private development team for the people mover, Fitch Ratings placed the BBB-minus rated senior revenue bonds on rating watch negative. The bonds,
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said the greater-than-expected easing in inflation in June may be an indication that the U.S. economy can have a “soft landing,” returning to price stability without a damaging recession. “There is still a plausible story that inflation normalizes in short order and the economy dodges additional trauma,”
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City appointed a longtime banker and bank regulator its new president to replace Esther George, who retired in January, continuing a history of naming former financial supervisors to lead the bank. Jeffrey R. Schmid, president and chief executive officer of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation at Southern
Municipals were weaker Wednesday as investors digested another larger new-issue slate, August redemption dollars, better-than expected economic data and the Fitch downgrade to the United States’ rating. U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly out long and equities sold off. The weakness in munis and UST resulted partly from the ADP Employment Report that showed 324,000 jobs were
The Biden Administration is expected to submit an emergency spending request for additional funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund before funds are expected to run dry at the end of the month. That’s according to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said she’s put pressure on the Biden Administration to act, as
Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of the United States’ long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to AA-plus from AAA should have little impact on the muni market, but may be of wider concern for the economy overall, market participants say. While it’s still relatively early to tell how much munis will be impacted, Kara South, a municipal
Miami-Dade County is preparing to come to market this summer with a $500 million bond issue to help expand PortMiami’s ability to cater to cruise passengers. The county expects to issue more than $499 million of taxable Series 2023 fixed-rate senior lien seaport revenue bonds, with a final maturity in 2056. The pricing is expected
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority triumphed in a hard-fought battle over the issuance of initial debt to finance a $5 billion expansion project, with the state Supreme Court Tuesday validating the bonds. In a 6-3 decision, the high court approved $500 million of second senior lien revenue bonds, rejecting arguments OTA lacks legislative authorization to build
Although the mix of ultra conservative budgeting, the unexpected revenue growth and federal funding states received at the height of the pandemic are in the rear-view mirror, Fitch Ratings says most states continue to fare well. States fiscal conditions remained resilient in fiscal 2023 despite weakening tax revenue growth or revenue declines, Fitch analysts wrote
Robersonville, North Carolina, has fixed its financial and operational shortcomings and could regain control of its finances in the near future, members of the state Local Government Commission were told at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. However, Eureka is still struggling with sewer issues that further threaten the town’s already-strained viability. The Local Government Commission,
Municipals were weaker in secondary trading to start August as several large deals took focus in the primary market. Munis slightly outperformed Treasury losses as the first round of August redemptions buoyed the market. Equities ended mixed. Triple-A yield curves were cut three to six basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose
The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a new center to help local transportation agencies spend infrastructure grants “on time, on task and on budget.” The Project Delivery Center of Excellence will guide grant recipients on the development and delivery of infrastructure projects with information on subjects like permits, contracts and bond issuances. Ty Wright/Bloomberg
U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and representatives of several U.S. territories filed a bill Monday that would require federal departments to have advisors on territorial affairs. If passed, the bill would create an office in each federal department “to oversee matters impacting the U.S. territories within their jurisdiction,” said Rep. Jenniffer González Colón, R-Puerto Rico.
New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, the first Black woman to serve as the state’s Assembly speaker, has died, according to a statement from the governor’s office. Oliver, 71, had been serving as acting governor while Governor Phil Murphy was in Italy on vacation with his family. She was hospitalized this week for an unspecified
The debate continues over the future of monetary policy. “The U.S. is not out of the woods when it comes to inflation,” said Peter Berezin, chief global strategist at BCA Research, “which means that it is too early to conclude that the Fed can stop raising rates.” It is uncertain how quickly inflation will fall,
Financial woes at an Iowa hospital led a major bondholder and a bond trustee to state court seeking the appointment of a receiver for the facility, while they demand the immediate payment of principal and interest in the wake of default events. The move comes as hospitals nationwide face persistent pressures as they slowly recover
Brandon Comer and his firm Comer Capital Group, the municipal advisor charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with breaching his fiduciary duty on a $6 million 2015 bond offering for the Harvey, Illinois Public Library District, are in talks to settle ahead of a pretrial conference scheduled for Nov. 17. Comer was charged by
Municipal bonds issued for the American Dream mega mall that are backed by New Jersey economic development grants are poised to miss their third straight interest payment Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The payment due Aug. 1 won’t be made, said the person, who requested anonymity because the information hasn’t been
Municipals were lightly traded and mostly steady Monday while U.S. Treasuries were slightly firmer from Friday’s levels and equities closed in the black. With muni returns in positive territory to end the month and supply down 8% for the month and 16% for the year, the calendar flips to the final month of the muni
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders reached agreement in principle on one issue as hints emerged that parties were nearing a settlement. The board and PREPA bond parties on Friday told U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain they had reached “an agreement in principle to resolve the outstanding perfection