Bonds

Tragedy struck a main span of the Key Bridge in the Baltimore Inner Harbor at 1:30 am Tuesday when the Singapore-flagged container vessel Dali crashed into a bridge support, toppling the bond-financed toll bridge. As of this morning, six people are missing in the catastrophe that is currently being attributed to the freighter losing power

S&P Global Ratings affirmed its A-minus underlying rating and negative outlook for Texas-based IDEA Public Schools, while warning of potential governance risk associated with the state’s appointment of conservators that could lead to a downgrade. Under a settlement agreement announced earlier this month with the Texas Education Agency (TEA), two conservators will oversee and direct

Moody’s Ratings on Friday raised Detroit’s issuer and general obligation unlimited tax bond ratings to Baa2 from Ba1, a major milestone for the city, which has waited 15 years to return to investment-grade status. It’s been just over a decade since Detroit filed for bankruptcy and defaulted on its bond debt. In December 2014, the

S&P Global Ratings on Monday raised New Hampshire’s $661.5 million of outstanding general obligation bonds to AA-plus from AA. S&P also raised the state’s $200 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The New Hampshire State House in Concord. S&P Global Ratings on Monday raised New Hampshire’s

Stadium financing, a cap on local lease revenue bonds, and an effort to preserve the state’s largest coal-fired power plant were some of the measures signed last week by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. The Republican-controlled legislature ended its session March 1, passing a $29.4 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, as

Municipals were steady as investors await several larger new-issues, including $2.68 billion of California GOs, which were offered to retail investors Monday, while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended down. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 61%, the three-year at 61%, the five-year at 58%, the 10-year at 58% and the 30-year at

The $1.2 trillion spending bill that was passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Biden on Saturday doesn’t address any of the key legislative issues affecting the municipal bond market, but flickers of hope remain in the few months before the elections in November. Reforming rules on Low Income Housing Tax Credits that

Waukesha County, Wisconsin-based Three Pillars Senior Living Communities is set to price $109 million of BBB-minus senior living bonds Tuesday, coming as high-yield outperforms other municipal sectors. The bonds issued by the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority will consist of $63 million of Series 2024A bonds due 2059, $8 million of Series 2024B-1 bonds

Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook said the U.S. central bank must take a cautious approach to cutting interest rates to allow more time for inflation to slow down in some segments of the economy. Fed policymakers left rates unchanged at their meeting last week at a two-decade high, and maintained their forecast for three rate

TD Securities has hired Andrew Nakahata, former head of UBS’ western public finance region to lead its expansion efforts on the west coast. The investment bank has been building its California public finance business for six years and has a San Francisco office opening April 1. The new office will house TD-Cowen Securities, as TD

When Vivian Altman ascended to managing director and head of public finance at Janney Montgomery Scott in 2017, there was only one other woman in the role in the municipal finance industry. And it stayed that way for the next seven years. Altman, who is an unabashed advocate for women and other underrepresented groups, says

Legal challenges to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s congestion tolling program for lower Manhattan have already slowed down the authority’s capital construction projects, months before toll collections are slated to begin. The authority announced a pause on new capital contracts in February, reiterated in the offering documents for $1.3 billion of revenue refunding bonds

Municipals were steady to end the week ahead of a surge in supply, helped by three billion-plus deals. U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were mixed. While USTs yields fell up to five basis points late in the session Friday, they sold off for most of this week, with various market participants seeing “even more

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed real estate transfer tax change — also known as the mansion tax or Bring Chicago Home — was defeated in Tuesday’s election. The city has said the revenue generated from the tax would go to fight homelessness in Chicago. About 53.6% of Chicago voters had rejected the measure by Wednesday,

In a majority vote, the California Public Employee Retirement System board came out against a state initiative headed for November’s ballot that would limit the ability of state and local governments to levy taxes and make pension contributions. The initiative, called the “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act,” would amend the California constitution altering the

Ryan Hallam, who spent nearly three decades at Citi, has been hired as a managing director and co-head of high-yield trading on Piper Sandler’s fixed-income team. Hallam will handle high-yield muni sales and trading, focusing on large institutional accounts. “As we look to grow our market share in the municipal industry, Ryan’s tremendous experience and

New York City is stepping up to the plate on Tuesday with the second biggest bond sale of the week, a $1.45 billion issue of general obligation bonds. Set to be priced by Jefferies on Monday for retail investors and on Tuesday for institutions, the tax-exempt GO deal is tentatively structured in four series with

While a move to raise New York City’s borrowing capacity by $12 billion is reasonable and sufficient for the city to meet future capital needs, the debt service threshold must be kept within safe limits, officials say. Letting New York City sell more bonds will allow it to meet its capital needs over the next

The state of Washington is the second large issuer to face pushback from investors as it heads to market with a deal to refund Build America Bonds using extraordinary call provisions. Wells Fargo Securities, leading a seven-bank syndicate, plans Tuesday to price $1.08 billion of Washington state motor fuel tax and vehicle related fees refunding

Employee-owned international broker-dealer Baird has added depth to its newly launched California Public Finance group with the addition of Alex Boutyrski. Boutyrski, who joins as senior vice president in the Los Angeles office, has more than 10 years of public finance experience. He will work with John Baracy, a Baird managing director, who the firm

Municipals saw spots of weakness on the short end of the curve while two high-grade issuers priced the largest deals left of the week, mutual funds saw smaller inflows and U.S. Treasuries closed the session softer 10-years and in, but a touch stronger out long. Equities rallied as the markets contemplated the better likelihood of