Bonds

Amid increasing signs of financial and operational distress, the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority board Monday announced CEO Andrew Smith will resign, effective June 30. The WAPA board held an emergency meeting Friday afternoon to deal with several topics. Nearly the entire meeting was held outside of public view but at least two

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Friday the U.S. needs to triple its nuclear capacity to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of net-zero emission by 2050. Granholm made the comments in Waynesboro, Georgia, where she joined a host of public officials celebrating the commercial start of the Unit 4 nuclear reactor at Plant Vogtle. The reactor

Connecticut is gearing up to issue $450 million of general obligation bonds aimed first to retail Monday, in a deal with many features that are popular in the current market, particularly more than half offered to taxable muni investors.  The bonds will also be buoyed by Connecticut’s brand — the state has developed a reputation

Municipal supply is set to top $14 billion next week, a high not seen in almost seven years, just as yields have hit year-to-date highs and relative value has improved. While participants expect some pressure ahead in the near-term, they also say the current yield and ratio set offers investors opportunity. The hefty primary next

Oregon economists in their June forecast predicted a 50-50 chance the state’s residents will receive a kicker tax credit in 2026 as revenues are coming in at a slow and steady pace. The state has a trigger mechanism that returns money to taxpayers every two years through a so-called kicker rebate if personal income taxes

On Tuesday, Moody’s changed its outlook on Maryland’s credit rating to negative from stable due to a depletion of the state’s general fund surplus, while affirming the state’s issuer and general obligation bond ratings at Aaa. The Maryland State Treasurer’s office isn’t showing a lot of concern.  “After hosting a successful briefing with all three

Houston Independent School District officials unveiled a massive $4.4 billion bond proposal for the November ballot that would address aging facilities, update technology, and improve security without increasing taxes. The plan, presented to the district’s Community Advisory Committee on Thursday, will be heading soon to the school board for a final vote on holding a

Issuance surged in May as Fed policy uncertainty, pent-up capital needs and mega deals helped volume top $40 billion for the month, the first time since 2016. May’s volume stood at $43.957 billion in 866 issues, up 46.9% from $29.919 billion in 802 issues in 2023. This is above the 10-year average of $35.896 billion.

The major sticking points between what California lawmakers want and cuts proposed in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May budget revisions are starting to arise with just over two weeks to go before lawmakers’ June 15 deadline to submit a budget to the governor. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, and Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, D-Sonoma

Cabrera Capital Markets has hired ex-Citi banker Tom Rasmussen as a managing director to head municipal sales, trading and underwriting as it climbs up the rankings. Rasmussen, who worked at Citi for more than 33 years running and forming teams, said he couldn’t say no to the opportunity to run Cabrera’s municipal trading and sales

The Guam Power Authority plans to sell about $64 million of revenue refunding bonds in mid-July. The board of the Guam Consolidated Commission on Utilities on Tuesday approved the deal unanimously. The Guam legislature and Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero have already approved it. The Guam Public Utilities Commission was expected to approve it Thursday, said

Municipals were little changed to a touch softer Thursday and mutual funds saw small outflows, setting the month to end with losses. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were down near the end of the trading session. Following Wednesday’s muni selloff, where yields were cut up to 13 basis points, depending on the scale, “AAA

The Washington D.C. City Council is proposing eliminating the tax exemption on interest on out-of-state municipal bonds, a revenue raising measure that the District’s mayor opposes. Mayor Muriel Bowser remains opposed to further tax hikes and laid out her position on the bond tax exemption earlier this month.  “I do not support raising additional taxes

The average time municipal issuers take to submit their audited financials to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has been steadily rising since 2018 and for 2023 has reached its highest ever recorded by the board at 209 days. “The 2024 study reveals that the average length of time audited financial statements were submitted to the

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Tuesday signed a bill allowing local governments to issue bonds via industrial development corporations to work alongside the private sector to bolster affordable housing. The law will allow IDCs affiliated with cities and towns to sell bonds to raise the money needed to assure multi-family housing remains affordable. All municipal governments

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority plans to come to market Wednesday with $829.4 million of airport system revenue and refunding bonds. “Traditionally, we’re in the market at about the same time every year. We either have a refunding opportunity or a new money need,” said Andrew Rountree, the authority’s senior vice president for finance and CFO.

A pair of top Congressional Republicans Wednesday opened an investigation into the Biden administration’s allocation of billions of federal dollars to California’s ambitious and pricey high-speed train project. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., chair of the the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, sent Transportation

Colorado’s action to rein in rising property values are negative credit factors for some local governments, while public schools will benefit from a state funding boost, according to Moody’s Ratings.  Legislation signed into law May 14 by Gov. Jared Polis will limit annual property tax revenue growth to 5.5% starting in fiscal 2026 and make

Municipals sold off Wednesday following another weaker U.S. Treasury session while equities were down near the close. Muni yields rose two to 13 basis points, depending on the curve, coming on the tailwind of a market correction, said Brad Libby, a fixed-income portfolio manager and credit analyst at Hartford Funds. Mixed economic data has been

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Two California issuers take first and third spots on the list. The Regents of the University of California top the list with $2.875 billion in six deals while Los Angeles Unified School District lands at third with $1.189 billion in two deals.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued guidance aimed at helping state and local governments provide additional information to aid certain decision making, assess a government’s accountability and address certain application issues. The 123-page document provides discussion and examples on how the improvements are to work. The guidance builds on Statement 34 released in 1999