Bonds

Providence St. Joseph Health’s revenue bonds were downgraded to A2 from A1 by Moody’s Investors Service, marking the third downgrade from a rating agency within the past three weeks. Moody’s on Monday also revised its rating outlook to negative on the $8.2 billion in debt it rates for the multi-state 52-hospital system headquartered in Renton,

PFM acquired the not-for-profit healthcare specialty advisory firm Melio & Company in a move that deepens its advisory and consulting benches. PFM’s acquisition of Melio & Co. — launched in 2009 by public finance investment banker Mark Melio — closed Friday and all nine employees of the Illinois-headquartered firm, who provide municipal and healthcare advisory

Puerto Rico’s preliminary economic activity index in February was down 0.2% from a year earlier but most other economic statistics were positive. According to the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank’ preliminary estimate, the index value was down 0.6% in January from a year earlier. However, on a month-to-month basis, January’s index was up 0.5% from

The recently elected mayor of Providence, Rhode Island hailed the city’s second rating upgrade in recent months. Moody’s Investors Service on March 13upgraded Providence’s issuer default rating and unlimited tax bonds to A3 from Baa1. “Today’s bond rating upgrade is another sign that we are on the right path,” Mayor Brett Smiley said in a

Harvey, Illinois’ long-planned exchange offer for its defaulted general obligation bonds could get underway later this month with receipt of an overdue audit the last hurdle to overcome, city officials told a Cook County judge. The Chicago suburb’s city council has cleared the path for the exchange offer to proceed and is expected to approve

Continuing its expansion into the municipal space, Siebert Williams Shank & Co. has hired Edward Tishelman as senior managing director and head of muni sales and trading. Tishelman is a 40-year veteran of the municipal finance industry and comes to Siebert from UBS Financial Services, where he was managing director and head of issuance strategies

Some capacity was restored to a nearly depleted Texas school bond guarantee program last month after state officials took action, but even more demand for the cost-saving enhancement is expected in the wake of upcoming bond elections. The latest data for the Permanent School Fund (PSF) program showed projected available capacity of $5.4 billion on

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on Louisiana’s general obligation bonds to positive from stable and affirmed the state’s rating at AA-minus. The rating action comes in connection with Louisiana’s next planned GO sale, the $251.1 million Series 2023-A competitive deal slated for April 13, according to Refinitiv.. “The outlook revision reflects our view of

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board said Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders are making “unreasonable” demands in their discovery in the agency’s bankruptcy. “The bondholders’ approach to discovery in this case has been marked by unreasonable demands and timelines,” the board said through its attorney in a response filed late Friday in the bankruptcy. “The

Municipals were firmer in spots to kick off the week, while U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields fell one to four basis points Monday while USTs were stronger by up to 10 basis points to close the session. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio was at 60%, the three-year at 61%, the five-year

The California State Treasurer’s Office will pick up the tab for the May interest payment on bonds issued for a state research laboratory damaged by massive flooding in Tulare, a city in the state’s agricultural stronghold in the Central Valley. The California State Public Works board filed an event notice Thursday saying damage to the

Chicago Public Schools moved closer to investment grade status with an S&P Global Ratings upgrade last week that came just one week after district leaders again sounded alarms of a gaping budget hole once federal COVID-19 aid runs out.   Governance changes are also coming after Tuesday’s runoff election picks a replacement for Mayor Lori

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Best Execution proposal is receiving significant pushback from the muni market for its overlap with existing rules at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and for other concerns unique to fixed income markets that advocates say could lead to significant consequences. That’s according to comments

A $2.1 billion project in Tempe that includes an arena for the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes is facing organized opposition and litigation as it awaits its fate with city voters next month. The mostly privately financed mixed-use development, which would use municipal bonds to fund site cleanup and infrastructure costs, has been the target

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders, the bond trustee, and bond insurers asked for certification of their appeal on bondholder liens but there are signals the judge isn’t inclined to grant it. On Friday morning District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain not only rejected considering issues bondholders wanted treated separately, but she also set deadlines

New Jersey’s wind energy industry is under fire following somemarine mammal deaths that the industry’s opponents blame on the development of offshore platforms along the state’s coastline. On Thursday, protests in Trenton calling for a moratorium on offshore platform development were followed by an announcement by Republican U.S. Representative Van Drew, whose district includes Atlantic

New York State lawmakers look likely to miss the deadline to have a new budget in place before the start of the state’s fiscal year on April 1. Last year the budget was approved a week late. “The governor and Legislature are discussing many important issues as they work to finalize the state budget, but

Municipal bonds finished trading little changed Friday as the market rode out the end of the month and the first quarter on a calm note as Treasuries strengthened and stocks surged. While munis came into March like a lamb, they went out like a lioness, calm and proud. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio was at 58%,

March municipal bond issuance dropped 30% year-over-year, as issuers this month dealt with Silicon Valley Bank collapse-induced volatility in the U.S. Treasury market, rising interest rates and an uncertain outcome for Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Total volume for the month was $31.795 billion in 515 issues, down from $45.555 billion in 985 issues a

Walt Disney Co. pushed through changes limiting the powers of the municipal authority that governs its Florida theme parks ahead of a controversial takeover by representatives of Gov. Ron DeSantis. The changes were quietly approved last month by the outgoing board of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the entity that provides fire protection, electricity and

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the establishment of new Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rule G-46, setting up the core standards of conduct for solicitor municipal advisors. Solicitor municipal advisors typically solicit for pension funds and have little to do with traditional municipal advisors. They both fall under the MSRB’s jurisdiction following Dodd-Frank. The new