Bonds

Florida’s Brightline passenger train is hoping to snag its first public rating ahead of a potential refinancing to lower interest rates on a chunk of project revenue bonds. The refinancing, expected in the next six to 12 months, comes after the express train hits a key milestone later this summer when it launches service on

S&P Global Ratings signaled Dallas Fort Worth International Airport could be upgraded in the future as it revised the outlook on the airport’s A-plus rating to positive from stable ahead of about $1.2 billion in bond issuance planned for this summer.  The rating agency said the airport, which it upgraded a notch from A last

The Federal Reserve is close to the end of its hiking cycle, inflation will slow, and recession is likely, analysts said in their second half forecasts. Wells Fargo Investment Institute expects the fed funds rate to rise another 25 basis points from the current 5%-5.25% range, before 2024 cuts bring the rate down to a

For the first time in more than 30 years, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association tapped the municipal bond market, selling tax-exempt fixed-rate bonds last week to help fund claims from insolvent insurance companies in the state. FIGA is set to head back to the market next week with a $125 million variable-rate deal. BofA Securities,

Municipals were little changed ahead of the Fourth of July, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended up. Triple-A yields were steady, while UST yields rose three to eight basis points. Municipal to UST ratios fell as a result. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 59%, the three-year at 61%, the five-year at

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy averted a government shutdown Friday, signing into law a record-setting $54.3 billion fiscal 2024 spending plan hours ahead of a July 1 budget deadline. The budget records an $8.3 billion surplus and features $5.4 billion of new spending in addition to major tax code changes and tax-relief provisions. For the

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, “is at risk of a severe fiscal crisis,” according to a U.S. Government Accounting Office report. The CNMI had $114 million of debt outstanding as of September 2020, much of it bond debt, according to its most recent audited statement. The government at that time

Illinois headed into the new fiscal year with fresh deposits to its rainy-day and pension stabilization funds, a low bill balance, and $1 billion in available general revenue funds — hitting several high marks on some fiscal metrics that had sunk during the state’s budget impasse six years ago. The state ended the year with

Ballard Spahr has promoted three public finance attorneys to partners the firm announced. The public finance lawyers include Charles Treece, Azer Akhtar, both in Washington, D.C., and Jennifer Santangelo in Philadelphia. They were among the seven attorneys Ballard Spahr elected to the firm’s partnership on July 1. Treece’s practice focuses on representing government-sponsored enterprises and

16Rock Asset Management LLC has launched a new hedge fund aimed at using a multi-strategy approach to capture the $4 trillion municipal markets’ recurring opportunities. The new fund, which launched Saturday and is open to trade, is called the 16Rock Municipal Opportunities Fund LP and will compete in the small universe of municipal hedge funds.

Robert Benecke and firm Benecke Economics have been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for acting as an unregistered municipal advisor to three municipalities in New Jersey in a case that is emblematic of what many view as a growing problem nine years after final effectiveness of the municipal advisor registration rule. For his

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board Friday approved the commonwealth’s fiscal 2024 budget that increases government spending and was already approved by the governor and local legislature. The budget consensus marks a departure from the long history of disagreements between the territory’s elected government and the board created by the federal government to restructure Puerto Rico’s

Municipals were steady to end the month and first half of the year ahead of a paltry new-issue calendar which will see next week’s volume drop to the lowest level of 2023. U.S. Treasuries were firmer out long and equities rallied. Treasuries saw yields fall by as much as seven basis points on the long

Dallas is moving ahead with plans to finance the replacement of its convention center and improvements to Fair Park starting with the private placement in August of short-term debt, which would be refunded as part of a sale of at least $1.4 billion of long-term bonds in 2024. The city council June 14 authorized work

Connecticut Green Bank is offering a seventh round of its one-year taxable Green Liberty Notes in a sale set to conclude on July 31. With buy-in starting at $100, the notes are geared towards retail investors, carry a 5% coupon rate, and will be issued through CGB Green Liberty Notes LLC, a subsidiary of the

June municipal bond issuance dropped 9% from 2022 as uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy and market volatility continued, but the total was the highest month of the year. June’s total volume was $34.436 billion in 744 issues, down from $37.775 billion in 984 issues a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data, and lower than the

Beating the legally mandated July 1 deadline to produce a balanced budget, New York Mayor Eric Adams and City Council have agreed on a $107 billion spending plan for fiscal 2024. “The agreement we reached today comes in the midst of a budget cycle dominated by great challenges and unexpected crises, but I am proud

Sandra Kerl, the long-time general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, retired Thursday after more than 40 years of public service. Deputy General Manager Dan Denham will serve as acting GM until the board of directors finds a permanent replacement. “It has been my privilege to work with so many talented and dedicated

Another $42 billion worth of infrastructure spending dedicated to improving broadband connectivity is now moving from federal to state coffers, spurring comparisons to electrification efforts under the New Deal nearly a century ago and potentially kickstarting additional bond issuance. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program flows from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is aimed

Not-for-profit hospital balance sheets are on the mend from last year’s challenges that inflicted deep damage on balance sheets, but pressures persist and the recovery is slow going, according to reports published this week. Hospital finances showed signs of stabilizing in May with some improvement in operating margins, declining expenses and notable increases in outpatient visits,

Munis were weaker Thursday, unable to ignore larger losses in U.S. Treasuries, after better-than-expected economic data pointed to a strong U.S. economy. Equities ended mixed. Economic data released Thursday showed the U.S. economy is strong, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at The Americas OANDA. The initial reaction saw UST yields surge, “while stocks focused