Bonds

A controversial railway project in northeast Utah’s Uinta Basin has set its sights on up to $2 billion in private activity bond financing as it fends off heightened environmental concerns in the wake of last month’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The 86-mile rail line would extend from two terminus points in the basin

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said that he will ask Congress and bank regulators to strengthen rules and oversight for banks to avoid further runs on banks and panic in the financial industry, like what was seen over the weekend.  Biden, speaking from the White House, said that deposits at American banks “will be there

WASHINGTON — In a stunning decision, federal regulators issued a systemic risk exception to protect uninsured customer deposits at Silicon Valley Bank of Santa Clara, California, in the wake of the bank’s sudden failure on Friday, and the Federal Reserve announced the creation of a lending facility large enough to cover all the insured deposits

Municipals were firmer to end the week, outperforming a U.S. Treasury rally after the employment report revealed more jobs than expected were added in February. Equities sold off. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped five to 10 basis points, depending on the curve, while U.S. Treasury yields fell 20 to 31 basis points, pushing the five-,

President Biden’s proposed budget unveiled Thursday includes the lowering of the private activity bond threshold for Low Income Housing Tax Credits to 25% from 50% and muni lobbyists, though skeptical about the prospects of the budget passing as is, say they will work hard to include the provision in any final budget. “While the President’s

The private partner in a prominent Maryland public-private partnership dropped out Thursday, citing environmental delays, lawsuits, and disagreements with the state, in a move that leaves the fate of the country’s largest P3 in doubt. Australian-based toll road operator Transurban, the lead partner in a consortium known as Accelerate Maryland Partners, said it had submitted

Underwriters completed pricing Thursday a $3.52 billion Texas securitization deal for natural gas providers, but the bonds may stay in investors’ hands only for a short time. The Texas Senate Finance Committee advanced a supplemental appropriations bill Wednesday that includes money to pay off the bonds and possibly debt incurred by other utilities as a

Fitch Ratings upgraded Orlando, Florida’s $166.925 million of Series 2017A senior tourist development tax revenue bonds to BBB from BBB-minus. The outlook on the bonds is stable. The bonds are a limited obligation of the city backed by a senior lien on 50% of the “6th-cent TDT,” which is a one-cent tax on hotel room

A project to repair a berth at the Port of Camden in New Jersey will receive a boost of support from this fiscal year’s federal omnibus spending bill. U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, a Democrat whose district includes Camden, recently announced an additional $750,000 in federal funds to support work on long-neglected portions of the South

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced two lawsuits against the city of Huntington Beach for violating state housing laws during a Thursday press conference. What follows may be a test case for recent state laws designed to lower the barriers to new housing construction. Housing’s high cost and low availability has

Chicago-based Illinois Institute of Technology lost its investment grade rating over rapidly escalating operating deficits that are expected to persist through at least 2024, governance practices, a risky debt structure and concerns over whether capital investments will pay off. Moody’s Investors Service cut the private nonprofit university’s rating two notches to Ba2 from Baa3 Tuesday

President Joe Biden unveiled a 2024 budget Thursday that raises taxes on high earners and large corporations while providing relief for struggling urban mass transit systems and sending money to states and locals for climate resiliency projects. The proposal totals $6.9 trillion, up from last year’s $6.4 trillion of federal spending. Discretionary spending would total

Municipals were firmer on the front end of the curve as more billion-dollar deals priced, while U.S, Treasuries rallied hard inside 10 years and equities sold off. The potential for a strong employment report, which would amp up belief of a 50-basis-point move by the Federal Open Market Committee later this month, and higher for

Fitch Ratings Thursday removed the formerly Disney-controlled Reedy Creek Improvement District, Florida, from rating watch negative and assigned a stable rating outlook to its successor entity. The rating agency was satisfied that legislation renaming the special district and putting it under control of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees protects bondholders. It affirmed the newly named Central

Eligible local governments in Michigan with weak pension funding ratios will soon get an infusion of funding promised by the state through a $750 million grant program.   The Michigan Department of Treasury has kicked off the funding process with the launch of the Protecting Michigan Pension Grant Program, authorized in the state’s fiscal 2023 budget. The

Responding to a looming debt ceiling dust up in Congress, the House Ways and Means Committee voted Thursday to advance House Resolution 187, dubbed the Default Prevention Act, which would prioritize paying U.S. sovereign bond holders first to avoid a credit default.  The bill passed through the Committee on a 21 to 17 vote. The contentious

The largest tax cut in West Virginia’s history has been signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice. “The world is watching West Virginia. The world sees West Virginia in a different light today,” Justice said at the signing ceremony in Charleston on Tuesday. “We’re not the blunt end of a bad joke. We’re the diamond

California has no plans to issue short-term notes to manage cash flow this year despite faltering revenues and disaster declarations that delay the income tax filing deadline for most Californians until October. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on March 2 the state, like the IRS, would extend the tax filing deadline to Oct. 16 for Californians

Kansas legislation targeting environmental, social, and governance criteria in public investments and contracts was held in House and Senate committees Wednesday as lawmakers work on changes after concerns were raised about projected big pension fund losses due to divestment.  Anti-ESG efforts have popped up in several state legislatures with bills seeking to protect certain industries,

Municipals were little changed in secondary trading Wednesday amid an active primary market with two billion-dollar deals priced, although details on one were not immediately available. U.S. Treasury yields were weaker in spots and equities ended mixed. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 59%, the five-year at 61%, the 10-year at 66% and the 30-year

Illinois expects another $575 million of general fund revenues in the current fiscal year as steady income and sales tax collections through February pushed worries over an economic slowdown and the impact of a potential recession further out on the horizon.   The legislature’s non-partisan Commission on Forecasting and Accountability raised its estimate for revenues