Bonds

As the climate change debate continues, and with a potentially strong hurricane season forecast, Municipal Market Analytics said states may be forced to intercede in private insurance markets. “A year of hypothetically larger catastrophic and secondary natural disasters would renew pressure on the states to intervene more directly in their private insurance markets to minimize

Colleges of all stripes are facing a much-discussed “demographic cliff,” with enrollment numbers already declining at many institutions. Multiple private colleges have seen downward outlook revisions from credit rating agencies due to declining enrollment and its attendant drop in tuition revenue combined with high debt levels. Yet public universities and community colleges in the Midwest

An open letter to our stakeholders: Recently, the MSRB withdrew its 2024 rate card fee filing with the SEC. This action raised questions like: Why did this happen? What does it mean for the market? What’s next? These are all important questions, and the purpose of this letter is to explain recent events, their impact

Municipals were steady in secondary trading Tuesday as several large deals in the primary market took focus, including the retail pricing for the $1.5 billion-plus deal of general obligation bonds from New York City. U.S. Treasury yields rose 10 years and out and equities were mixed near the end of the trading session. Other large

Oklahoma will stop collecting state sales tax on groceries under a bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Kevin Stitt, who said he is still seeking a reduction in personal income taxes. The elimination of the 4.5% sales tax, which will cost the state around $400 million annually, was overwhelmingly passed by lawmakers. “By cutting

Broker dealers are divided over whether small firms should be dealt more relaxed regulation and compliance standards, or be subject to uniform standards that treat large Wall Street banks and single person firms the same in the eyes of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. The dueling sentiments came through in response to the MSRB’s request

Changes in leadership at the U.S. Treasury haven’t changed the fact that the Office of Tax Policy is still missing a go-to expert with a deep background in tax-exempt bonds, leaving lawyers and other stakeholders to adjust and with some worries it could eventually be a problem. The OTP is responsible for developing and implementing

Guam Waterworks Authority plans to refund between $134 million and $159 million of revenue bonds and offer a tender on $161.1 million of taxable bonds. “Guam bonds, the only investment-grade, triple tax-exempt paper on the market, always garner excitement amongst investors,” said Lester Carlson, director of Guam’s Bureau of Budget and Management Research. “We anticipate

When Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza this month launched a new online portal to track state spending on asylum seekers, state residents gained a window onto a major piece of the local government spending pie, with the city of Chicago and Cook County also spending millions on the migrant crisis. As of Feb. 27, the new

Interstate 35, which cuts through the heart of downtown Austin, Texas, is set to undergo a major expansion that state transportation officials say is necessary to bring relief to one of the state’s most clogged highways that will only get more congested as the population continues to grow. Austin has seen its population double every 20

Municipals were steady to start the week as investors await the larger new-issue slate, outperforming U.S. Treasuries, while equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 58%, the three-year at 57%, the five-year at 56%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year at 81%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s

Municipal bond market veteran Ted Hynes has been promoted to become head of Raymond James fixed-income sales, the firm announced Monday. Based in New York City, Hynes has almost 40 years of experience in the fixed-income markets. He will lead a sales force of more than 150 professionals serving institutional fixed income investors comprised of

A stark decline in reserves and cash on hand that could put bond covenants at risk resulted in San Diego-area Palomar Health’s ratings being placed under review for downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s currently rates the general obligation bonds A1 and the revenue bonds Baa3. If the revenue bond ratings are downgraded one notch,

Municipal bond analysts should expect increased uncertainty as they work to assess the impact of pensions and other postemployment benefits on credit quality in 2024.  Pension risk — the possibility that pension and other postemployment benefit costs can rise to such a degree as to impair a bond issuer’s ability to pay its debts —

Clarity from a recent court ruling along with the level of current interest rates will likely lead to a dramatic increase in Build America Bonds being called by issuers this year, market participants say. While only a small amount of BABs have been called using an “extraordinary redemption provision” since sequestration of BABs subsidies began

As New York City gets set to issue $1.2 billion of fiscal 2024 series C general obligation bonds, rating agencies affirmed the Big Apple’s $40 billion of outstanding GO debt. Proceeds will be used to fund capital projects; a $309.4 million reoffering will also be sold to convert outstanding floating-rate bonds to fixed-rate securities. Book-running

Municipal bond issuers in the Northeast sold $89.3 billion of debt in 2023, a 14% year-over-year drop that drove the national market into negative territory. Muni issuance in the region’s 11 states, two territories and the District of Columbia came in more than $14 billion below 2022 numbers, according to data from LSEG, formerly Refinitiv,

The story stays the same and that is munis remain rich but an uptick in supply will bring some pressure to the asset class. The steadiness of the muni market, despite the swings in USTs, shows both the trepidation of investor commitment at these levels and the underlying strength of the credit quality of the

Not-for-profit healthcare finances should improve this year, rating agencies said, and many healthcare issuers plan to test the bond market. The sector reached a “turning point” in calendar year 2023, Fitch Ratings said in a report released Wednesday. The latest perspective offers a shift from challenges and expectations analysts predicted as recently as January. Analysts

Louisiana is set to float $1.34 billion of private activity bonds in April as part of its largest public-private partnership to date, which will replace an aging bridge over Interstate 10 near St. Charles. The Louisiana Public Facilities Authority released details of the financing after the State Bond Commission last week signed off on the

Alabama airports would be able to enter into public-private partnerships under a bill that advanced through the state House this week. House Bill 87 passed the House Tuesday less than three weeks since it was introduced by Republican state Rep. Chip Brown. It is now pending at the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee. “Alabama is