Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi on Thursday proposed removing pension cuts from the island’s debt restructuring negotiations, asking legislators instead to deal with the issue in regular budget negotiations. Observers say the move is political and unlikely to help parties come to consensus over the pension issues, and further complicates getting the Plan of Adjustment
Bonds
Wayne County, Michigan, received an upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service this week that pushed the once speculative-grade credit into the single-A category six years after a financial crisis. Moody’s raised the county’s issuer rating and the general obligation and lease rental bonds issued by the Detroit Wayne County Stadium Authority to A3 from Baa1 and
Hawaii lawmakers made changes to bills that would have used COVID-19 federal relief funds to make debt payments and replenish reserves before ending a special session Thursday, which was called to act on the governor’s vetoes. Gov. David Ige announced plans June 21 to veto 28 bills and ultimately vetoed 26 of them by Tuesday’s
The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois and the Chicago Transit Authority won upgrades from Moody’s Investors Service as sales taxes recover and worries about exposure to fallout from the state fade with Illinois on stronger fiscal ground. Both had carried a negative outlook assigned in May 2020 as the pandemic took a toll on sales
U.S. Treasuries pared back gains with yields rising by four to six basis points Friday and stocks rallied to record highs as investors’ concerns over a lull in the economic recovery quieted. Municipal bonds did as they often do on a summer Friday — stayed on the sidelines and awaited the coming week’s larger new-issue
Kentucky’s general fund receipts came in $1 billion above projections for fiscal year 2021, the Office of the State Budget Director reported on Friday. General fund receipts rose 10.9% to $12.8 billion for fiscal 2021 from the same period in the previous year, $1 billion above the prior budgeted estimate and the highest annual growth
Illinois reaped a second rating reward for its improving fiscal condition with its first S&P Global Ratings upgrade in 24 years. The upgrade to BBB from BBB-minus followed a similar move by Moody’s Investors Service last week raising the rating to the same level at Baa2 with a stable outlook. In June, Fitch Ratings moved
San Jose, California, will head to market Wednesday with a $200 million competitive general obligation bond deal riding an upgrade to AAA from Fitch Ratings. The city received the one-notch upgrade to its GOs, but not its issuer default rating from Fitch, for both the upcoming deal and $502 million in outstanding GO debt, based
As the White House weighs the potential renomination of Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, officials are discussing the use of openings on the board to reshape the central bank to closer align with administration priorities such as inequality and tighter banking regulations, according to people familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden
The top municipal underwriters accounted for $219.57 billion in 6,084 transactions in the first half of 2021 compared to $191.87 billion in 5,181 deals in the first half of 2020. BofA Securities led with $32.99 billion of deals, while Goldman Sachs jumped into the top five and Morgan Stanley moved up one spot from where
Municipals were better on light but strong trading in the secondary, as dealers pushed benchmarks lower with large blocks of high-grades exchanging hands but sales to customers also showed strong interest. U.S. Treasuries helped direct municipals to lower yields as the UST 10-year fell to 1.36% — the lowest since Feb. 24 — and the
After two decades of credit deterioration — with a brief reprieve about a decade ago that lifted the state’s ratings due to a recalibration of municipal credits — the pendulum shifted last week with a one-notch upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service. The upgrade gives the state more breathing room between investment grade and junk. It
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board on Wednesday approved a $10.1 billion budget crafted by the Puerto Rico local government for the first time in the board’s history. “The budget developed jointly by the governor, the legislature, and the Oversight Board is a significant achievement and an important step toward achieving fiscal responsibility and economic stability,”
Michigan drew a second dose of positive rating news in June as S&P Global Rating’s lifted its rating outlook to stable from negative as COVID-19 pandemic fiscal worries fade amid a brighter economic picture. S&P’s action Wednesday came as lawmakers approved the school aid portion of the state’s fiscal 2022 budget, and it followed Fitch
The Port of Los Angeles received an outlook lift to positive from S&P Global Ratings as it marks the highest level of traffic experienced in the history of the 114-year-old port. S&P rates the port AA. The action affects $665.7 million of bonds, all fixed rate, with no commercial paper draws outstanding, according to the
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will begin an environmental review on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, a first step in the permitting process for Dominion Energy’s 2.6-gigawatt commercial wind project. U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the review on a tour of the port on Thursday for the project, which is
The nonfarm payrolls number beat expectations, but full employment is still about a year away, according to economists, suggesting the Federal Reserve will take its time in removing accommodation. “The June jobs report does not rise to the level of ‘substantial further progress’ on the labor market that the Fed wants to see before removing
Despite taking a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s prudent approach to financial operations along with its financial flexibility has kept the state’s ratings in the top tier. Fitch Ratings late Thursday affirmed its AAA rating on Virginia’s $1.1 billion of general obligation bonds as well as on the state’s long-term issuer default rating. Additionally,
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board on Friday filed suit against a law that would scuttle the negotiated plan of adjustment for the central government debt. The board filed an adversary proceeding in the Title III bankruptcy in the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico against the governor and legislative leaders in defense of the negotiated
Texas’ largest county is shoring up its faltering $2.5 billion flood control bond program with a new trust fund after discovering a shortfall in federal support. In a marathon meeting last week, the Harris County Commissioners approved creation of the Flood Resilience Trust to assure that all 2018 bond projects will be built without delays