Bonds

Competing visions for the future of New Jersey’s corporate tax system emerged in the wake of changes proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy. As part ofa $53.1 billion fiscal year 2024 budget proposed in late February, Murphy said he intended to let a corporate business tax surcharge instituted in 2020 in response to COVID-related budget gaps,

Moody’s Investors Service raised Detroit’s general obligation rating to the highest speculative grade, moving it one notch away from a return to investment grade as it continues its slog back from bankruptcy. Thursday’s one-notch upgrade puts the city’s GO and issuer rating at Ba1 and Moody’s sent another positive sign by continuing to maintain a

Assured Investment Management (AssuredIM), which runs the institutional asset management business of Assured Guaranty Ltd., and some of its affiliated asset management companies, will be acquired by asset management firm Sound Point Capital Management. Insurers Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. and Assured Guaranty Corp. “will also engage Sound Point as their sole alternative credit manager to

Muni yields continued to fall along with U.S. Treasuries Wednesday as weaker-than-expected private payrolls for March led to supportive bond prices and a market rally. Equities ended mixed. California priced its $2.6 billion general obligation deal for institutions with double-digit bumps from Tuesday’s retail offering. Municipal to UST ratios on the short end remain rich.

A decision by the California State Treasurer’s Office to cover bond payments for a flood-damaged agriculture lab supports Fitch Ratings’ view that issuers “will repay abatement lease debt, even if they technically have the option not to do so,” according to the rating agency. The California State Public Works Board filed an event notice March

Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat have agreed to a $117 million 17-year deal with software company Kaseya that will rename the basketball team’s arena as the Kaseya Center. The collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX prompted the county and the team to look for a new partner for the 19,600-seat arena. In 2021,

As NASA gets set to head to the moon again, data says the agency has had a positive economic impact here on Earth. In fiscal 2021, 27,004 jobs were created in Florida alone through space agency spending, the space agency said, adding that its activities ripple across the entire United States. On Monday, NASA and

Brandon Johnson will be sworn in as Chicago mayor next month with the municipal market’s scrutiny fixed on whether he can sustain the city’s momentum in dealing with chronic fiscal and public safety strains. Johnson, a Cook County board commissioner and Chicago Teachers’ Union organizer, beat Paul Vallas, a former city budget director who led

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Municipal Securities has added three new staff members that broadens its coverage in offices throughout the country. Soo Im-Tang has been added as senior counsel out of the Los Angeles regional office; Preston Swapp joins as senior counsel based out of the Chicago regional office and Matthew Turner

Tennessee will turn to tolls and public-private partnerships to meet the mounting costs of managing its roadways. Gov. Bill Lee’s Transportation Modernization Act cleared its last legislative hurdle Thursday as theGeneral Assembly approved his $3.3 billion package allowing for the use of P3s for highways for the first time in the state’s history. “Tennessee is

Municipals were firmer in secondary trading Tuesday following U.S. Treasuries after weaker jobs data sent signals of a slowing economy. Triple-A yields fell two to six basis points while USTs rallied up to 15 basis points on the short end following fewer-than-expected job openings data, according to Roberto Roffo, managing director and portfolio manager at

Providence St. Joseph Health’s revenue bonds were downgraded to A2 from A1 by Moody’s Investors Service, marking the third downgrade from a rating agency within the past three weeks. Moody’s on Monday also revised its rating outlook to negative on the $8.2 billion in debt it rates for the multi-state 52-hospital system headquartered in Renton,

PFM acquired the not-for-profit healthcare specialty advisory firm Melio & Company in a move that deepens its advisory and consulting benches. PFM’s acquisition of Melio & Co. — launched in 2009 by public finance investment banker Mark Melio — closed Friday and all nine employees of the Illinois-headquartered firm, who provide municipal and healthcare advisory

Puerto Rico’s preliminary economic activity index in February was down 0.2% from a year earlier but most other economic statistics were positive. According to the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank’ preliminary estimate, the index value was down 0.6% in January from a year earlier. However, on a month-to-month basis, January’s index was up 0.5% from

The recently elected mayor of Providence, Rhode Island hailed the city’s second rating upgrade in recent months. Moody’s Investors Service on March 13upgraded Providence’s issuer default rating and unlimited tax bonds to A3 from Baa1. “Today’s bond rating upgrade is another sign that we are on the right path,” Mayor Brett Smiley said in a

Harvey, Illinois’ long-planned exchange offer for its defaulted general obligation bonds could get underway later this month with receipt of an overdue audit the last hurdle to overcome, city officials told a Cook County judge. The Chicago suburb’s city council has cleared the path for the exchange offer to proceed and is expected to approve

Continuing its expansion into the municipal space, Siebert Williams Shank & Co. has hired Edward Tishelman as senior managing director and head of muni sales and trading. Tishelman is a 40-year veteran of the municipal finance industry and comes to Siebert from UBS Financial Services, where he was managing director and head of issuance strategies

Some capacity was restored to a nearly depleted Texas school bond guarantee program last month after state officials took action, but even more demand for the cost-saving enhancement is expected in the wake of upcoming bond elections. The latest data for the Permanent School Fund (PSF) program showed projected available capacity of $5.4 billion on

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on Louisiana’s general obligation bonds to positive from stable and affirmed the state’s rating at AA-minus. The rating action comes in connection with Louisiana’s next planned GO sale, the $251.1 million Series 2023-A competitive deal slated for April 13, according to Refinitiv.. “The outlook revision reflects our view of

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board said Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders are making “unreasonable” demands in their discovery in the agency’s bankruptcy. “The bondholders’ approach to discovery in this case has been marked by unreasonable demands and timelines,” the board said through its attorney in a response filed late Friday in the bankruptcy. “The

Municipals were firmer in spots to kick off the week, while U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields fell one to four basis points Monday while USTs were stronger by up to 10 basis points to close the session. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio was at 60%, the three-year at 61%, the five-year