Bonds

The U.S. would get a national infrastructure bank that would partner with states and local governments to attract private equity and pension funds under a bipartisan bill unveiled this month. It’s the latest legislation to pursue the idea, which lawmakers have floated repeatedly over the years as a way to spur private investment into the

Greenberg Traurig gained five public finance lawyers who joined the law firm’s Houston office this month from Orrick.  Adrian Patterson, who served as Houston office leader at Orrick, joined Greenberg as a shareholder, along with Robert Collie and James Hernandez as of counsels, and Noe Hinojosa III and Donna McIntosh as associates, the law firm

Oregon’s revenues continued to beat expectations, with the state’s economists forecasting lawmakers will have nearly $696 million more to spend than anticipated, and about $3.9 billion going back to taxpayers through the kicker rebate. The state has a trigger mechanism that returns money to taxpayers every two years through a so-called kicker rebate if personal

As the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority prepares to hit the market with a green bond deal, the agency is tackling economic, social and infrastructure challenges. Like many other mass transit authorities across the nation, WMATA has seen its ridership — and farebox revenue — decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it also faces unique

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said a bigger-than-expected rise in the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge shows the need to keep raising interest rates, but stopped short of suggesting this warranted a step-up to a half-point hike next month. “The inflation readings are still not where we need them to be,” she told Bloomberg News

Mohamed El-Erian says the financial markets are starting to doubt whether the Federal Reserve can bring inflation down to its 2% target. El-Erian, the chairman of Gramercy Funds and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, told Bloomberg Television that inflation indicators are heading in the wrong direction, increasing worries among investors about how long it will take

Five years ago, when I visited Puerto Rico in the wake of deadly Hurricane Maria, relief organizations brought solar-powered lights to replace the power grid that had failed catastrophically.  In the wake of severe damage to its energy infrastructure, Puerto Rico privatized its bankrupt public power utility with the promise to deliver more effective services.

A political fight over whether natural gas fired appliances should be more strictly regulated or even banned may exacerbate the long, slow decline of municipally owned gas utilities. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recently taken aim and heat over their recommendations about using natural gas stoves, with its chair announcing in January that it

S&P Global Ratings upgraded Illinois by one notch Thursday for ongoing progress in chipping away at its debts and rebuilding its rainy day fund. The action — lifting $26.5 billion of general obligation bonds to A-minus from BBB-plus — puts the state back into the single-A category for the first time in seven years and

Municipals were mixed Thursday as outflows from muni mutual funds intensified. U.S. Treasuries were firmer, and equities ended up. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 63%, the five-year at 64%, the 10-year at 67% and the 30-year at 92%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the three at 63%,

While investor interest in local government debt remains on the mend after bottoming out late last year, some cities are faring better than others, according to University of Chicago Center for Municipal Finance data. The Harris School of Public Policy’s CMF launched the indices in 2018 to track secondary market general obligation bond values of

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ sweeping K-12 education plan passed the Senate Thursday as it continued on a fast trajectory through the legislature despite bipartisan calls to slow down the measure, which includes a phased-in, universal school voucher program. The Republican governor’s Arkansas LEARNS plan received its first public airing on Wednesday before the Senate

Lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering legislation to establish a “baby bond” program, an effort proponents believe will help address racial wealth disparities. Following nearly a year of work by the office of State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg in researching potential plans the bill was submitted to state lawmakers this week. “Baby Bonds is a proactive approach

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board received some support in its battle over discovery with Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders, but the court has yet to weigh in. Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority filed a joinder Thursday, supporting the board’s position on discovery. “There will be a time and place to bring

Transit systems around the country have experienced a sputtering recovery from COVID-19, but the state of two large California agencies underscores how much the funding structure they had in place before the pandemic affects their fiscal recovery. Before the pandemic, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System, which runs 131 miles of rail service

The White House is narrowing its search for a nominee to become the next Federal Reserve vice chair, intending to swiftly replace Lael Brainard, who became President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser this week. A top tier of candidates is taking shape led by Harvard University professor Karen Dynan and Northwestern University professor Janice Eberly,

A municipal fintech platform for asset management firms, banks, insurance companies, and municipal advisors is being developed by Assured Guaranty’s new subsidiary, AG Analytics. The platform intends to deliver best-in-class technology and turnkey solutions to replace fragmented data resources used by municipal asset managers, analysts and other market participants. “Many asset managers are using too

Rejecting nearly all of the challenges to its disclosure statement and plan of adjustment in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy, the Puerto Rico Oversight Board attempted to explain why National Public Finance Guarantee could get preferential treatment. National’s treatment is permissible since it is supported by a “legitimate basis,” the board said, citing

Municipals were weaker in spots in secondary trading Wednesday as $688 million of New York City general obligation bonds priced in the primary, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities ended mixed. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 62%, the five-year at 62%, the 10-year at 65% and the 30-year at 91%, according to Refinitiv

Veteran municipal bond banker and industry expert Peter Hill has joined Ramirez & Co. as a senior managing director effective Wednesday, according to the firm. In his new role, Hill will work alongside Ted Sobel, head of public finance and with other senior executives, continuing to grow and expand the 51-year-old minority-owned investment banking, brokerage,

Legislation that imposes environmental, social, and governance investment rules on Indiana’s public pension system is advancing after revisions cut the potential impact of the rules to $550,000 from $6.7 billion. If adopted and signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb, the pension system would be required to divest from and terminate some investment relationships when various ESG