Bonds

The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority approved revenue bonds to buy and expand the Stanley Hotel.Adobe Stock The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority will issue up to $475 million of revenue bonds to finance the purchase of a historic hotel that inspired Stephen King’s The Shining, under resolutions passed by its board on

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson celebrated Tuesday’s City Council passage of a $1.5 billion bond refinancing.Bloomberg News The Chicago City Council has approved a plan to refinance $1.5 billion of the city’s debt. The council had postponed action on the refinancing at its Oct. 9 meeting.  The city’s finance team expects to issue the bonds in

Tapping public money streams to build stadiums and arenas for privately-owned sports teams is a thriving part of the municipal market despite the fact that it routinely generates controversy about the ultimate value to taxpayers. “The problem is, you’re trying to do a mathematical equation over thirty years,” said David Abrams, a banker with Inner

The U.S. Environmental and Protection Agency’s new PFAS water treatment rules are most likely to hit water utilities serving small service areas with poor populace and old infrastructure the hardest, analysts say. In April the EPA issued final regulations on rules for utilities to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from drinking water. The substances are

Houston Controller Chris Hollins’ investor conference took place Tuesday without the  participation of key city officials after Mayor John Whitmore raised “pay-to-play” concerns about corporate sponsorships for the event and requested a city probe. Hollins countered on Tuesday, calling on the Houston inspector general’s office to also investigate corporate sponsorships for the mayor’s Sept. 17

Municipals saw a sharp correction Wednesday, with yields rising double-digits as the asset class played catch up to U.S. Treasuries after recent outperformance led to too-rich ratios. Deals in the primary repriced to higher yields as a result. Muni yields rose five to 18 basis points, depending on the scale, pushing the 10-year above 3%

Municipal market participants this week laid out their doubts about a data standards law in a blizzard of comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission. A similar refrain came from issuers big and small: the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022 represents regulatory overreach and an unfunded federal mandate that will especially burden small issuers.

“In evaluating the industry, we looked at where we could add value the most,” said Ajay Thomas, FHN’s senior managing director and head of public finance.Callie Lipkin FHN Financial has hired three new public finance professionals as it looks to grow its municipal business to include more project finance deals. The new hires are Managing

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma appointed Christina Sarron to head the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority.Bloomberg News A long-time veteran of the State Treasurer’s public finance office has taken the helm of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. State Treasurer Fiona Ma Tuesday announced that she has appointed Christina

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander endorsed excluding fossil fuel infrastructure from NYC pension investments.  Under such a policy, three New York funds would be the first large pension funds in the country to avoid all midstream and downstream fossil fuel infrastructure in their private markets investments. “Climate risk is financial risk,” Lander said at

Half Day Forest Preserve in Lake County, Illinois. Lake County Forest Preserves is asking voters to approve a $155 million bond referendum on Nov. 5.Jennifer Shea Voters in the Midwest will see a half-dozen conservation referendums on their ballots, three of them involving bonds. Such local issues have one advantage amid the polarization that has

Municipals extended their selloff with the largest losses on the short end amid another busy day in the primary market, led by an upsized JFK Airport Terminal 6 Redevelopment Project deal. U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields rose three to 12 basis points, playing some catch up after recent outperformance.

As the election looms, tax specialists and politicos are gaming out what might happen to key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including the deduction cap on state and local taxes.   “There’s an interesting set of bedfellows and partnerships that could emerge on SALT,” said Arshi Siddiqui, a partner at Akin, and a

The New York State Capitol Building in Albany. New York has enacted some improved public pension benefits.Bloomberg News A trend of public pension benefit improvements could put credit pressure on states that enact them, Fitch Ratings said this week. Enacted and proposed state measures providing more generous benefits will “lead to higher required contributions and

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Alliance Global Partners for engaging in unfair practices and publishing daily quotes at above market prices on anywhere between 4,300 and 6,500 different municipal bonds between February 2019 and February 2021. The firm violated Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rules G-13 on quotes, G-14 on reports of sales or

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Examination Division will take a closer look at municipal advisors, specifically non-solicitor municipal advisors in FY 2025, and will begin enforcing the move to a T+1 settlement cycle. That comes on the backs of the Commission’s first case enforcing Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rule G-42, which was established in 2016

More firms are turning to integrating with other systems as they address growing client needs for seamless workflows and contend with the ability to scale their business. However, barriers can impede integration, leading to firms having varying levels of success. Since “fixed income markets are complex and bifurcated … we have to collaborate to provide

Oklahoma would open the door to the creation of bond-issuing public infrastructure districts if voters approve a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot. State question 833 would allow property owners to petition their municipality to create a PID as a way to finance roads, sidewalks, parks, and water and sewer services through the

The top five bond financings in the ranking came in at more than $7 billion, according to data from LSEG. The top 20 bond financings have a cumulative amount of more than $18 billion. Total issuance in September hit nearly $45 billion, bringing market expectations for a record year closer to fruition. Scroll through to

Municipals were weaker Monday following U.S. Treasury market pressures while equities ended down. Triple-A yields rose up to seven basis points while govies were higher by eight to 12 basis points. Short ratios fell as a result of the day’s moves. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday day was at 61%, the three-year at 61%, the

On Monday, the Department of Transportation announced the winners of $4.2 billion in grants flowing from the Biden Administration’s infrastructure legislative crown jewel.  “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris administration is carrying out ambitious, complex transportation projects that will shape our country’s infrastructure for generations to come,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.  “With