Bonds

On Tuesday, Moody’s changed its outlook on Maryland’s credit rating to negative from stable due to a depletion of the state’s general fund surplus, while affirming the state’s issuer and general obligation bond ratings at Aaa. The Maryland State Treasurer’s office isn’t showing a lot of concern.  “After hosting a successful briefing with all three

Oregon economists in their June forecast predicted a 50-50 chance the state’s residents will receive a kicker tax credit in 2026 as revenues are coming in at a slow and steady pace. The state has a trigger mechanism that returns money to taxpayers every two years through a so-called kicker rebate if personal income taxes

Municipal supply is set to top $14 billion next week, a high not seen in almost seven years, just as yields have hit year-to-date highs and relative value has improved. While participants expect some pressure ahead in the near-term, they also say the current yield and ratio set offers investors opportunity. The hefty primary next

The Guam Power Authority plans to sell about $64 million of revenue refunding bonds in mid-July. The board of the Guam Consolidated Commission on Utilities on Tuesday approved the deal unanimously. The Guam legislature and Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero have already approved it. The Guam Public Utilities Commission was expected to approve it Thursday, said

Cabrera Capital Markets has hired ex-Citi banker Tom Rasmussen as a managing director to head municipal sales, trading and underwriting as it climbs up the rankings. Rasmussen, who worked at Citi for more than 33 years running and forming teams, said he couldn’t say no to the opportunity to run Cabrera’s municipal trading and sales

Colorado’s action to rein in rising property values are negative credit factors for some local governments, while public schools will benefit from a state funding boost, according to Moody’s Ratings.  Legislation signed into law May 14 by Gov. Jared Polis will limit annual property tax revenue growth to 5.5% starting in fiscal 2026 and make

Municipals sold off Wednesday following another weaker U.S. Treasury session while equities were down near the close. Muni yields rose two to 13 basis points, depending on the curve, coming on the tailwind of a market correction, said Brad Libby, a fixed-income portfolio manager and credit analyst at Hartford Funds. Mixed economic data has been

Munis were little changed to a touch weaker Monday on the heels of last week’s market correction, mostly ignoring U.S. Treasury market moves to higher yields, while equities were mixed late in the session. Munis sold off last week “as the anticipated market correction may have finally started ahead of the summer reinvestment period,” said

Dallas would ramp up contributions to its Police and Fire Pension System over five years and could pursue additional funding options, including pension obligation bonds and using a portion of sales taxes earmarked for mass transit, under recommendations presented to a city council committee.  Jack Ireland, Dallas’ chief financial officer, told the Ad Hoc Committee

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has retired nine separate pieces of interpretive guidance related to Rule G-12(c) on inter-dealer confirmations following the board’s request for comment on the rule. The move follows recent comments submitted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association that urged the board to knock out the provision altogether, and the

The South has been the driving force for United States population growth in recent years – in 2023 for example, the region accounted for 87% of the nation’s population growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That population growth has helped spur economic growth in that region. But the changing climate may turn that equation

Debt issued by the California Community Choice Finance Authority, a conduit for the state’s community choice aggregators, has climbed to nearly $10 billion in the three years since its inception. The first California CCA agency was created in 2010 to offer communities alternatives to purchasing power from private utilities and to encourage growth in more

As states and the federal government grapple with ways to replace or complement the diminishing gas tax, the idea of a per-mile user fee has gained public support over the last decade. That’s according to the latest annual survey from the Mineta Transportation Institute, based at San Jose State University, which for the last 15

The flooding in Vermont last summer illustrates climate change’s impact on U.S. localities and their financial responses. Severe floods that were triggered by several days of heavy rainfall in Vermont left homes washed out and businesses and municipal facilities with severe physical damage. It also left some of the rural communities in the state, which

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology violated its bond covenant at the beginning of the month when it missed a monthly $1.2 million interest payment to the bond trustee. Jessica Warren, Harrisburg University’s executive director of marketing and communications, said the university only needs to make interest payments twice a year on its outstanding bond

Municipals took a breather Friday ahead of the long weekend and a much smaller calendar after seeing yields rise and underperform U.S. Treasuries, pushing ratios to levels last seen in November 2023. In addition to “more attractive raw yields, municipal underperformance has allowed relative values to improve as well,” noted Kim Olsan, senior vice president

Municipals sold off Thursday with more cuts across the curve as a correction has ensued for the asset class just ahead of the summer reinvestment season. U.S. Treasuries saw losses and equities were also in the red. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows as investors pulled $217.6 million from the funds

The U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s financial situation is the worst in more than 30 years, one board director said Thursday. Board Director Hubert Turnbull made the remark at the board’s monthly meeting as a prelude to asking CEO Andrew Smith to explain the authority’s financial situation. WAPA had to turn to the

Indiana officials celebrated the completion of the first of three major commuter railway projects in the northwest part of the state. The Double Track Northwest Indiana project, a $650 million endeavor, involved the creation of a double track on the South Shore Line from Michigan City to Gary. It is now completed and producing revenue,

Munis were weaker Wednesday as the primary market saw a slew of new deals price, adding pressure to secondary market trading. U.S. Treasury yields rose throughout most of the curve and equities ended down. Triple-A yields rose as much as 11 basis points while USTs were weaker by five basis points. As munis have seen

A California Senate committee received few details from the department charged with building a public broadband program on its plans to expand into underserved neighborhoods. The program faced criticism last year for prioritizing upscale cities, like Beverly Hills, over impoverished and middle-class areas, such as Los Angeles’ South Central region and Oakland, communities lacking in

Municipals weakened further Tuesday in secondary trading as a large new-issue slate took focus in the primary market. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were in the black. Muni yields were cut up to seven basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell two to three basis points, pushing muni to UST ratios

Municipals were weaker to start the week, as U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly and equities were mixed near the close. Muni yields rose up to nine basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose up to three basis points. “While we acknowledge that the market tone is weaker [Monday], we are generally constructive

Greensboro, North Carolina, is expected to price $175 million of bonds next week, $25 million of which are taxable bonds, with the proceeds being used to redeem outstanding bond anticipation notes. The North Carolina Local Government Commission approved the Greensboro bonds earlier this month as well as $212 million of bonds from Raleigh, with an

The median audit time for all municipal bond sectors rose nearly 10.5% from 2011 to 2022, according to a new report from the University of Illinois-Chicago and Merritt Research Services.  The report also found a direct correlation between audit timeliness and credit rating for all governmental bond sectors and a majority of revenue bond sectors.

The Federal Reserve’s delay of interest-rate cuts in a bid to temper inflation runs the risk of falling behind the curve, according to Mohamed El-Erian. “The Fed pivoted on the basis of data. It was the opposite of the pivot that they did in December — now they have to do a U-turn,” El-Erian, the

States are casting around for solutions to a drop in gas tax revenues which includes hiked registration fees and the expansion of toll roads, which remains politically sensitive.  “Various projections from state DOTs, think tanks, and economists show that gas tax revenue, which is the largest source of revenue for state transportation trust funds, is

A Senate Finance Committee hearing led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, contemplated ways to smooth funding for rural hospitals as the number in the red has spiked in recent years. Rural hospitals and clinics across the U.S., including in Oregon, have been particularly hard hit by the challenges facing healthcare over the past several years.

Municipals were steady to slightly weaker in spots ahead of a $12 billion-plus calendar, while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were mixed near the close There are nearly 30 new-issues over $100 million on tap across the credit spectrum, led by the week’s largest negotiated deal from Harris County, Texas, with $950 million of

Virginia Beach tapped the municipal bond market to help fund a surf park development backed by multi-Grammy award winning artist Pharrell Williams.  The Virginia Beach Development Authority priced about $189 million of debt on Thursday with some of the bond proceeds financing the construction of a 3,500-person entertainment venue, parking facilities and land acquisitions, as