Bonds

Houston faces a structural budget gap that could top $250 million over the next few years, while it also has plans to issue billions of dollars of debt for a firefighter settlement, a major airport project, and other purposes, according to its new financial watchdog.  Chris Hollins, who was elected city controller in a December

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board is working to block a law that would decrease revenues for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority over the next 27 years by extending the solar net metering system. The board’s PREPA fiscal plan said the continuation of net metering, where solar panel users are credited with the retail price

A much-anticipated $2 billion borrowing from Florida’s Brightline passenger train could price as soon as next week — if the company succeeds in placing another roughly $2.75 billion of debt. Investors met this week with the Brightline Trains Florida LLC finance team, led by Morgan Stanley, in a series of meetings on the East Coast

When it comes to issuing municipal bonds in Louisiana, state Treasurer John Fleming like things just the way they are. Fleming is pushing back against a proposal in the state Legislature that would make changes to the way the state Bond Commission oversees the issuance of debt by cities, counties and local governments and entities.

Jeffrey Scruggs, Head of Public Sector and Infrastructure Group at Goldman Sachs, sits down with Bond Buyer Executive Editor Lynne Fun Transcription: Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record. Lynne Funk (00:09):Hello everyone and welcome to

Municipal analysts are concerned the growing federal government debt may lead to challenges for municipal finances in the near-, medium- and long-term. The increasing federal debt may force states and local governments to pay higher rates on their bonds. “Since some municipal investors may also choose Treasuries given their very low risk, the greater supply

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as supply slowed and small inflows into muni mutual funds returned. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities saw losses. The Investment Company Institute reported small inflows to municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending April 10, with investors adding $18 million to funds following $69 million of outflows the week

Norton Rose Fulbright has hired public-private partnership and infrastructure attorney Patrick Harder to co-head the firm’s U.S. and North America infrastructure groups. Harder joins Norton Rose after 20 years at Nossaman LLP, where he was a leader in the U.S. P3 space and was partner and chair of the infrastructure group. He will co-chair Norton’s

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board held its second stakeholder meeting on Tuesday, its final engagement with the market on its now discarded rate card fee model and budget process. The first of the two meetings was conducted by those from which the MSRB derives its fees and centered on the rate card model. This second

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is asking the Biden Administration for an additional $9 billion to pad its disaster relief fund for the remainder of FY 2024. That was mentioned during the House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, where FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell appeared to discuss the Biden Administration’s $33.1 billion funding request for FEMA

A federal judge in the Western District of New York has ruled in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission in its case against the City of Rochester, New York’s municipal advisors, whom the SEC accused of failing to disclose conflicts of interest inherent in their contingent fee agreements with the City. “One of the

Wisconsin’s Housing and Economic Development Authority last week rolled out its Infrastructure Access Loan program, a partnership with developers and local governments to build more workforce housing, against the backdrop of a worsening housing affordability crisis. Housing supply shortages and high home prices have driven existing home sales to a nadir last seen during the

Municipals were slightly weaker as the focus turned to a large new-issue day with deals upsized and accelerated. The asset class followed U.S. Treasuries to higher yields while equities closed the session up. Triple-A yields rose one to five basis points, depending on the curve, while UST yields rose up to four basis points. The

The size of the Internal Revenue Service budget and whether it should see an increase was part of the focus of a Tuesday Senate Finance Committee hearing during which IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel played defense against what some members of Congress have called over aggressive audits.   Werfel’s written testimony included a request that IRA funding

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass broadened her priorities from tackling homelessness and police officer retention, presenting a plan in her State of the City speech to comprehensively evaluate city departments to make them more effective as she wrestles with a $467 million deficit. The mayor will present her budget later this week. The city has

President Joe Biden signaled tentative federal support for a long-struggling high-speed train between Dallas and Houston using Japanese technology during a meeting last week with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Opponents of the controversial proposal, meanwhile, have urged the Department of Justice to investigate the project’s owner, Texas Central Partners LLC, for violations of the

Mikhail Foux, Managing Director and Head Municipal Research & Strategy at Barclays, discusses the increasing retail concentration of muni ownership as fewer institutional investors are engaging in the asset class due to various regulatory and tax-policy related issues and what it means for munis during times of volatility. Bond Buyer Executive Editor Lynne Funk hosts.

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. The Bond Buyer is proud to announce the return of nominations for the Hall of Fame of municipal finance for a third class of inductees, alongside the ninth annual class of Rising Stars, a program which showcases the brightest young minds in

Lauren Saporito, who spent nearly two decades at Citi, has been hired as a senior salesperson at Wells Fargo, as part of the firm’s multi-year plan to invest in the municipal space. At Wells, Saporito will strengthen the company’s links with major institutional investors and advance its expansion into credit-centric areas like project finance and affordable housing,

A small Kansas city took the initial step last week that could lead to the issuance of sales tax and revenue (STAR) bonds for a development featuring a Mattel toy-themed amusement park. The proposal came before the Bonner Springs City Council in the wake of the first-ever default on STAR bonds in the state and

Brodie Killian has moved to PFM Financial Advisors from Stifel Nicolas & Co., joining its Ann Arbor office as a director. The move represents the capstone achievement of Killian’s broad career in the municipal bond market, he told The Bond Buyer.  “My past experience gives me a unique perspective as a municipal advisor who has