Bonds

Gov. Kay Ivey made Alabama the latest GOP-dominated state to enact a law designed to limit the application of environmental, social, or governance factors by private sector businesses. SB261, which took a little under a month to make it from committee proposal through the Republican-dominated state legislature to the governor’s desk, seeks to shield some

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders say they are owed $8.5 billion and the timeframe of being able to collect on their claim should continue in perpetuity. That was a central point of contention during Tuesday’s PREPA bond claim estimation hearing during which lawyers for the bondholders and the Oversight Board argued about what the

Municipals were little changed to weaker in spots Wednesday, while U.S. Treasuries sold off after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates and equities ended mixed. Triple-A benchmarks were cut up to three basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose four to 10 basis points. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at

House Republicans on Tuesday sharply criticized responses from the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury, taking the agencies to task for rate hikes that they said damaged the municipal and other markets, thwarted transparency, and cracked the banking system.     The comments came during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. The discussions included

Municipals were firmer in spots, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker on the front end of the curve and equities closed the session in the black. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped up to five basis points on the short end, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose up to four basis points 10 years and in.

Indiana University Health heads into the market this week with a $726 million transaction to provide ongoing financing for the system’s new hospital campus under construction in downtown Indianapolis. The bonds are selling through the Indiana Finance Authority in three tranches with a $325 million fixed-rate series, $300 million selling as put bonds with five-to-10

The New York City Housing Development Corp. is coming to market this month with $891.75 million of bonds to help back construction of much-needed new housing projects in the city. The NYC HDC plans to issue $641.75 million of Series 2023A-1, 2023A-2 and 2022G multi-family housing revenue bonds not subject to the alternative minimum tax

Municipals were slightly firmer Friday, outperforming a U.S. Treasury selloff after a hotter-than-expected jobs report. Equities rallied. Triple-A yields were firmer by up to four basis points while Treasuries were weaker by up to 15 on the short end. Short ratios fell as a result. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Friday was at 66%, the three-year

Struggling with declining enrollment, Oregon’s Portland State University had its outlook revised to negative by Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $193 million of outstanding debt. Enrollment declined by more than 20% over the past six years, and expectations of continued declines over the next four years at the downtown Portland university were cited by Moody’s in

AES Puerto Rico, a firm that supplies about 21% of the electricity transmitted by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, defaulted Thursday, missing an $18 million interest and principal payment on outstanding municipals it priced through a conduit in 2000. In a notice to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA site on Friday, AES Puerto

Reinvestment needs will top new-issue supply by about $30 billion from June to August, which should boost the asset class after May’s atypical losses. Reinvestments, which includes maturities, called bonds and coupons, total over $114 billion over the next four months, according to ICE Data. While June often begins softer as investors assess how new-issue

The Austin City Council on Thursday approved an $88 million settlement with an airport terminal operator that will allow a largely bond-financed expansion and development program at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to move forward with a midfield concourse project.  The settlement paid with airport revenue will end litigation against the city by LoneStar Airport Holdings,

Less than a month before New York City faces a deadline for a balanced budget agreement, Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council seem as far apart as ever over the need for either increased spending or more cuts. By law, the mayor and council must agree on a balanced budget by July 1. Last

Two Missouri-based hospital operators, BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke’s Health System, are the latest to join the trend of large-system mergers. The two signed a letter of intent to form an integrated not-for-profit Missouri-based health system Wednesday. The systems will work to reach a definitive agreement “in the coming months” with a closing anticipated by the

Political brinkmanship has the nation’s credit rating headed towards a race against the clock in the U.S. Senate, though the crisis now appears near resolution after the House Wednesday night passed the 99-page Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, a bipartisan effort to avoid default.  Municipal market participants are moved to cautious optimism about the latest events.

Pending state legislation that boosts Milwaukee’s revenue raising prospects falls short of what the city needs to manage rising pension and other costs, Fitch Ratings said in cutting the city’s general obligation bond rating by two notches. Fitch dropped the rating Tuesday to BBB-plus from A and warned of the potential for further deterioration by

May municipal bond issuance dropped 29% year-over-year in May as issuers dealt with rising interest rates stemming from debt ceiling concerns, Federal Reserve policy uncertainty and overall market volatility. Total volume for the month was $26.062 billion in 677 issues, down from $36.583 billion in 928 issues a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data. Tax-exempt issuance

Municipals were firmer Tuesday as U.S. Treasuries rallied on improved chances that Congress will raise the debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. default. Equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields fell three to 10 basis points, depending on the scale, underperforming U.S. Treasuries, which improved by five to 14 basis points with the largest gains on the

Chicago’s new mayor, Brandon Johnson, is tasking a “working group” that includes his finance team and state legislative and labor representatives with finding long-term funding fixes to ease the city’s pension funding woes. Chicago’s $33.7 billion of pension liabilities remain a huge burden on the city’s balance sheet and budget despite progress in recent years.

Illinois lawmakers expect to cast a final vote early Saturday on a nearly $50.7 billion budget that preserves scheduled deposits into the rainy day fund, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed $200 million pension supplemental pension payment and pay off of the state’s tobacco bonds. Some of those plans appeared in possible jeopardy in recent weeks over

Municipals were weaker in spots in light trading Friday while U.S. Treasuries were weaker again on the short end on higher inflation reads. Equities rallied on a potential debt ceiling deal. “A slew of hot economic data points are keeping the bond market selloff going strong,” noted Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. The