Bonds

An attempt by Austin, Texas, officials to seek court validation for bonds to help finance a multi-billion-dollar light rail project faces a key test this month. The eligibility of Austin Transit Partnership, a corporation created by the city and the regional Capital Metro Transportation Authority to spearhead Project Connect’s development and financing, to petition for

Munis were little changed Monday as U.S. Treasuries sold off and equities ended mixed. Following the conclusion of the first quarter, munis are seeing losses for the year with the asset class returning negative 0.39% for the year and March returns were at 0.00%, noted Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities. The

Asbestos. Lead. Temperatures that reach 115 degrees. Cracks in the ceiling so big you can see the sky. All of these have been found in Pennsylvania’s public schools.  Pennsylvania lawmakers toured schools around the commonwealth last year, and what they found was “nothing short of shameful,” according to State Representative Peter Schweyer.  “I was touring

With tax season in full swing, the muni market is underperforming and facing selling pressure as investors move out of short-term paper to pay tax blls. However, these dynamics have not made the asset class an undesirable option for investors and most expect demand to remain strong. Munis are returning negative 0.06% month-to-date, while USTs

New Yorkers are feeling less satisfied and more uneasy today than they were only six years ago, according to a survey done by the Citizens Budget Commission. The results of the CBC’s 2023 Resident Survey released March 19 reveals that Big Apple residents rate their quality of life much lower than they did in a

A Colorado bonding authority is taking a step toward purchasing a hotel tied to author Stephen King’s The Shining after an Arizona nonprofit dropped its bond-financed plan to buy and renovate the property.  The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority (CECFA), which would have been the conduit issuer for up to $475 million of cultural

A proposed $2 billion public private partnership that would have moved two major league sports teams out of Washington D.C. and into a bond-financed, built-from-scratch arena in Northern Virginia is officially off, following an announcement that the District has come to terms on a deal to keep the teams in their current home. On Wednesday,

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green claims the state is making headway toward reducing recovery costs by getting people displaced by fires out of hotels and into permanent housing. Green has faced criticism from lawmakers for not having a cogent housing plan or coherent budget for the costs associated with the August 8 Lahaina wildfires. Lawmakers are

Municipals were steady to weaker in spots Thursday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar while municipal bond mutual funds saw more inflows. U.S. Treasury yields rose 10 years and in and equities ended mixed. LSEG Lipper reported fund inflows of $447 million for the week ending Wednesday following $63.8 million of inflows the prior week.

The Purdue University Trustees priced $72.43 million of student fee bonds Tuesday, joining other issuers in refunding some of the university’s outstanding Build America Bonds. Lead managers Jefferies and Ramirez & Co. priced the deal Wednesday, with Wells Fargo Securities serving as co-manager. The municipal advisor is Blue Rose Capital Advisors. Bond counsel is Ice

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board voted 11-1 to adopt its congestion pricing toll structure, the first of its kind in the nation and a key source of funding for the MTA’s upcoming capital projects. The vote will allow congestion pricing to be implemented as planned in mid-June. However, the congestion pricing plan is

Municipals were mixed Wednesday, but selling pressure was evident on the short end, as few deals of size priced in the primary market and balances from Tuesday’s large new-issues were digested. Munis underperformed a stronger U.S. Treasury market while equities ended up. Despite weakness Wednesday and Tuesday, munis have “held in pretty well,” with yields

There’s a lot more than $10,000 at stake in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy’s 2024 Policy Innovation Challenge, but that’s what the winning team of students will take home, along with a chance to influence decision-making on the Gordian knot of Chicago policy questions: public pensions.  The city currently has $31.8

A massive new-issue slate was the focus Tuesday, with investors digesting three large general obligation deals out of California, New York City and Washington, amid lighter but slightly weaker secondary trading. The onslaught of new-issuance and approaching month- and quarter-end led triple-A yields to rise up to seven basis points on the short end and

Stadium financing, a cap on local lease revenue bonds, and an effort to preserve the state’s largest coal-fired power plant were some of the measures signed last week by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. The Republican-controlled legislature ended its session March 1, passing a $29.4 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, as

Municipals were steady as investors await several larger new-issues, including $2.68 billion of California GOs, which were offered to retail investors Monday, while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended down. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 61%, the three-year at 61%, the five-year at 58%, the 10-year at 58% and the 30-year at

Legal challenges to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s congestion tolling program for lower Manhattan have already slowed down the authority’s capital construction projects, months before toll collections are slated to begin. The authority announced a pause on new capital contracts in February, reiterated in the offering documents for $1.3 billion of revenue refunding bonds

While a move to raise New York City’s borrowing capacity by $12 billion is reasonable and sufficient for the city to meet future capital needs, the debt service threshold must be kept within safe limits, officials say. Letting New York City sell more bonds will allow it to meet its capital needs over the next

New York City is stepping up to the plate on Tuesday with the second biggest bond sale of the week, a $1.45 billion issue of general obligation bonds. Set to be priced by Jefferies on Monday for retail investors and on Tuesday for institutions, the tax-exempt GO deal is tentatively structured in four series with

In a majority vote, the California Public Employee Retirement System board came out against a state initiative headed for November’s ballot that would limit the ability of state and local governments to levy taxes and make pension contributions. The initiative, called the “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act,” would amend the California constitution altering the