Bonds

The recent failures of regional banks is emboldening Washington’s administrative state to double down on regulation. Regulators across the city are rushing to write new rules to further inject Washington’s central planners into the functioning of our capital markets.  The American Securities Association, which I run, recently sent a letter to the Washington bureaucracy with

The New York City Housing Development Corp. is coming to market this month with $891.75 million of bonds to help back construction of much-needed new housing projects in the city. The NYC HDC plans to issue $641.75 million of Series 2023A-1, 2023A-2 and 2022G multi-family housing revenue bonds not subject to the alternative minimum tax

Indiana University Health heads into the market this week with a $726 million transaction to provide ongoing financing for the system’s new hospital campus under construction in downtown Indianapolis. The bonds are selling through the Indiana Finance Authority in three tranches with a $325 million fixed-rate series, $300 million selling as put bonds with five-to-10

Municipals were steady Monday, while U.S. Treasuries were little changed, and equities ended down. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Monday was at 67%, the three-year at 69%, the five-year at 70%, the 10-year at 70% and the 30-year at 90%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. read. ICE Data Services had the two-year at 66%, the

An assisted-living complex for low-income senior residents in southern New Jersey has been struggling to make timely monthly loan payments. New Standard Senior Living said construction delays at its Village Drive campus in Millville has impeded its ability to lease units and choked its cash flow, according to a recent regulatory filing. While such holdups

After crisscrossing Texas this year to drum up support for school choice, Gov. Greg Abbott is not deterred even though the Republican-controlled legislature failed to deliver a bill before the regular session ended last week. “I will never relent, I will never give up,” the Republican told the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation Friday. “We

Small manufacturers and farmers would win expanded access to tax-exempt private activity bonds under a bipartisan bill introduced in the House last Thursday. The Modernizing Manufacturing and Agricultural Bonds Act, introduced by Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., would triple the amount of industrial development bonds – also known as industrial revenue bonds – that can be

Municipals were slightly firmer Friday, outperforming a U.S. Treasury selloff after a hotter-than-expected jobs report. Equities rallied. Triple-A yields were firmer by up to four basis points while Treasuries were weaker by up to 15 on the short end. Short ratios fell as a result. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Friday was at 66%, the three-year

Struggling with declining enrollment, Oregon’s Portland State University had its outlook revised to negative by Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $193 million of outstanding debt. Enrollment declined by more than 20% over the past six years, and expectations of continued declines over the next four years at the downtown Portland university were cited by Moody’s in

AES Puerto Rico, a firm that supplies about 21% of the electricity transmitted by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, defaulted Thursday, missing an $18 million interest and principal payment on outstanding municipals it priced through a conduit in 2000. In a notice to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA site on Friday, AES Puerto

Reinvestment needs will top new-issue supply by about $30 billion from June to August, which should boost the asset class after May’s atypical losses. Reinvestments, which includes maturities, called bonds and coupons, total over $114 billion over the next four months, according to ICE Data. While June often begins softer as investors assess how new-issue

The Austin City Council on Thursday approved an $88 million settlement with an airport terminal operator that will allow a largely bond-financed expansion and development program at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to move forward with a midfield concourse project.  The settlement paid with airport revenue will end litigation against the city by LoneStar Airport Holdings,

Less than a month before New York City faces a deadline for a balanced budget agreement, Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council seem as far apart as ever over the need for either increased spending or more cuts. By law, the mayor and council must agree on a balanced budget by July 1. Last

A bill that would avoid the nation’s first default is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk after a speedy approval through the Senate Thursday night. The measure lifts the $34.1 trillion debt limit until Jan. 1, 2025, just days ahead of the June 5 date that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the U.S. would run

Municipals were firmer Thursday as the June reinvestment period began, providing some additional support. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended up a day after the House passed a bill to increase the debt limit, quelling some market concerns about a U.S. default. Municipals continued to ride the positive momentum from USTs as triple-A yields

Suzanne Shank, president and CEO of Siebert Williams Shank & Co. LLC, has been chosen as chair of the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference, the Detroit Regional Chamber announced Thursday. Joined by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Chamber president and CEO Sandy Baruah said Shank would also become first vice chair of the chamber’s board of directors.

Two Missouri-based hospital operators, BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke’s Health System, are the latest to join the trend of large-system mergers. The two signed a letter of intent to form an integrated not-for-profit Missouri-based health system Wednesday. The systems will work to reach a definitive agreement “in the coming months” with a closing anticipated by the

Massachusetts state senators approved a $56 billion budget for the fiscal year 2024 last week, forwarding along for final debate a package that preserves many of the central features of Gov. Maura Healey’s landmark tax relief package. Senators followed in step with their counterparts in Massachusetts’ House in approving a package along the lines of

Political brinkmanship has the nation’s credit rating headed towards a race against the clock in the U.S. Senate, though the crisis now appears near resolution after the House Wednesday night passed the 99-page Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, a bipartisan effort to avoid default.  Municipal market participants are moved to cautious optimism about the latest events.

Nevada lawmakers are weighing a $380 million public financing package to help pay for a stadium if the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team relocates to Las Vegas. If the deal moves forward, the state will have wooed away the California city’s professional baseball team and its professional football team, the Raiders, a National Football

The city of St. Louis recently launched a revolutionary approach for evaluating businesses seeking economic development incentives. The new “scorecard” relies on an innovative, community benefits evaluation model for projects to shape future growth and increase transparency in how the city distributes tax incentives.   The underlying issue behind the need for the St. Louis scorecard is