Bonds

Olathe, Kansas, plans to issue up to $810 million of taxable industrial revenue bonds to finance the construction and equipping of soft-drink bottling, warehouse, and distribution facilities that would be leased to a private business. The city council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday approving the Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company project and signaling its intent to

Cities and states are pushing back against a Republican debt-limit and spending cuts bill recapturing unspent pandemic funds that’s on track for a House vote as soon as next week. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Wednesday unveiled the 320-page “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023,” with a plan to bring the bill to the Rules

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ fiscal year 2024 budget would tap reserves to help fund the hiring of 400 police officers and for $1.3 billion in spending to lessen the city’s homelessness crisis. She proposed a $13.1 billion budget Tuesday, a 5.6% increase in general fund spending from the prior year. The package now heads

Municipals continued to be hit hard on the front end of the curve in secondary trading as a $2 billion-plus deal from Illinois took focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, while equities ended mixed. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut 11 to 15 basis points, depending on the curve at one-year and nine to

As Congress gears up to craft a new five-year funding package for the Federal Aviation Administration, a House panel Wednesday held a hearing focused on boosting the pilot pipeline to meet growing passenger demand. The reauthorization of the FAA legislation is one of the big-ticket transportation items facing Congress this year. The legislation provides funding

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s upcoming quarterly meeting on April 26-27 will discuss its recent efforts in improving information and practices for dealers, including its recent proposed amendments to Rules G-47 on time of trade disclosures and D-15 on sophisticated municipal market professionals as well as a retrospective rule review for Rule G-12 on uniform

Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson will inherit a healthier fiscal landscape than previously expected, according to an updated forecast Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled that raises near-term surplus projections and trims projected gaps in the coming years. The 60-page Mid-Year Budget Forecast, released Tuesday by the mayor and her finance team, provides a broad view of the

Investment advisory firm 16th Amendment Advisors LLC has formed an asset management arm and tapped BlackRock’s former head muni portfolio manager to serve as its chief investment officer. James Pruskowski, a nearly 30-year veteran of BlackRock, will be CIO and head of business development for16Rock Asset Management LLC. Pruskowski partnered with 16th Amendment’s Chief Executive

As Florida lawmakers prepare to banish the letters ESG from their municipal bond lexicon, the once simmering feud between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Co. boiled over into a public fight once again. DeSantis responded Monday to Disney’s latest moves to circumvent the state’s takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District — having

Three parties filed arguments urging Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain to not certify a bondholder appeal of her ruling that the bondholders do not have perfected liens on PREPA’s revenues. The Puerto Rico Oversight Board, the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, and fuel line lenders filed separate objections Monday

Municipals sold off Tuesday with secondary trading showing weaker prints across the curve leading to up to 20 basis point cuts to scales with the largest losses up front. Municipal outperformance to U.S. Treasuries ended Tuesday as the market began to digest a larger new-issue calendar on tax-filing deadline day. Muni yields were cut 12

Muni leaders are concerned that a flurry of regulations enacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, some spurred by attempts to reign in the cryptocurrency market, is spilling over into other markets. The issues were brought to a head by two letters addressed to SEC Chair Gary and a subsequent grilling during a hearing by

The median time the municipal sector took to produce audited comprehensive financial statements worsened by 13%, jumping to 166 days in 2021, compared to 147 days in 2010, a 19-day increase. That is according to a draft report produced by Richard Ciccarone, president Emeritus of Merritt Research Services, an Investortools Company, who teamed up with

Dedicated funding offers one solution for transit agencies facing a much-hyped looming fiscal crisis amid weak ridership and dwindling federal subsidies. That’s the view of transit expert Joshua Schank, a managing principal at InfraStrategies and formerly chief innovation officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “We can’t continue down the same path and

Ahead of a May 16 special election on a $2.1 billion entertainment district that includes an arena for the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes, Tempe voters are being hit with dueling views on the project’s economic impact. The nonpartisan Grand Canyon Institute, which cited the arena and a music venue as the mixed-use development’s primary

Gov. J.B. Pritzker promoted Illinois’ fiscal progress and ratings upswing in a direct pitch to investors as the state tees up its first general obligation bonds to carry single-A-level ratings since 2016. The state plans to enter the market as soon as Wednesday with the $2.45 billion issue but with supply heavy this week and

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed amendments on Rule G-47 on time of trade disclosures, as well as amendments to Rule D-15 on sophisticated municipal market professionals, are being welcomed by dealer groups despite the changes being rather small. Many of the amendments in the proposal are consolidations and reorganizations of existing policy documents, according

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he favored continued interest-rate hikes to counter persistent inflation, while recession fears are overblown. “Wall Street’s very engaged in the idea there’s going to be a recession in six months or something, but that isn’t really the way you would read an expansion like this,”

Transcription: Chip Barnett (00:03):Hi and welcome to another edition of the Bond Buyer Podcast. I’m Chip Barnett and my guest today is Neal Pandozzi. He’s a partner at Bowditch & Dewey. He’s based in Boston and licensed in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He’s served as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, borrowers counsel, underwriters counsel, lenders counsel

Massachusetts’ House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a $659 million tax cut package, handing off to the Senate one of the largest tax cut proposals in state history. In a 150–3 vote, the Democratic-majority House approved a $659 million proposal introduced by Rep. Ronald Mariano last week, a package in line with, but notably smaller, than

Municipals were weaker to start the week as triple-A benchmark yields rose in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. Equities ended up. Muni yields were cut four to eight basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose seven to nine basis points. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio was at 54%, the three-year at 56%, the five-year