Bonds

Parties in a bankruptcy case involving a bond-financed Arizona participant sports venue objected to a motion to either appoint an independent Chapter 11 trustee or dismiss the case, arguing either move would be detrimental or premature. Legacy Cares, the venue’s owner, which filed for bankruptcy May 1 in Arizona federal court, along with bond trustee

The bond market was quiet to end the week, with munis and U.S. Treasuries little changed ahead of next week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Equities were up near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Friday was at 59%, the three-year at 61%, the five-year at 62%, the 10-year at 65% and the 30-year at

New Jersey sued the federal government to block a plan to charge drivers entering midtown Manhattan, claiming the green light the US gave New York’s congestion pricing proposal was ill-considered and missed numerous risks to Garden State residents. The challenge came Friday morning in a federal lawsuit the state filed against the US Department of Transportation and

New Jersey Transit’s newly passed fiscal 2024 budget includes no new fare hikes and increased spending year-over-year, in the face of a looming fiscal cliff. NJ Transit’s board passed a $2.86 billion operating budget on Wednesday that’s 4.1% bigger than fiscal 2023’s, with 60% of costs associated with labor and fringe benefits and 31% linked

Fifth Third Securities has been added to the growing list of underwriters charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for violating its limited offering exemption. For its role in in issuing 79 offerings without obtaining the required disclosures, Fifth Third, without admitting or denying the findings, has agreed to settle the charges, cease and desist

Munis continued to show strength Wednesday as several large new issues priced to good demand, with New York City Transitional Finance Authority seeing yields fall as much as of 14 basis points from Tuesday’s retail scales and Salt Lake City upsizing its deal. U.S. Treasuries improved and equities ended in the black. Triple-A yields were

The Supreme Court of Georgia recently put an end to a long-running legal dispute that held up a state-backed development deal with electric vehicle maker Rivian. The state’s high court last week declined to hear an appeal filed by local residents opposed to the validation of $15 billion of bonds backing the construction of a

Municipals continued to improve Tuesday in constructive secondary trading while a retail pricing of $950 million for the New York City Transitional Finance Authority took focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were slightly firmer out long and equities rallied. Triple-A yields fell up to four basis points, depending on the curve, while U.S. Treasuries were

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava presented her proposed $11.7 billion fiscal 2023-2024 budget, featuring tax cuts, on Monday. “With this year’s budget, we’re creating a more future-ready Miami-Dade — building for today and investing in tomorrow,” Levine Cava said. “With this fiscally smart, compassionate budget, we’re investing in our residents’ needs today and building

Municipals were slightly firmer to start off the week as a larger new-issue calendar looms, while U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended the session up. Triple-A yields fell one to two basis points while UST fell two to three. Munis started off last week at “extremely rich valuations throughout most of the curve after

Growing indicators suggest bonds from assisted living facilities and nursing homes may show increasing defaults in the coming months. Through the first six months of 2023, Municipal Market Analytics’ Default Trends found that 4.17% of all retirement sector par became impaired, compared to 3.09% of the sector’s par that became impaired in all of 2022.

New York City’s capital program will be getting a much-needed bond boost as the New York City Transitional Finance Authority readies a sale of $1.08 billion of future tax-secured subordinate debt. Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund infrastructure projects in the city’s $164.8 billion 10-year capital plan. The fiscal 2024 executive capital

The Texas Legislature took final action Thursday on a massive property tax cut after beating back attempts in the House to include teacher pay increases and other measures in the bill. Senate Bill 2, which passed the Senate in a 31-0 vote, cleared the House in a 133-4 vote. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who advocated

UBS Financial Services has been granted preliminary approval to settle a class action lawsuit against it with bondholders for $2.5 million. The settlement stems from charges that UBS allegedly reported tax information incorrectly and cost investors millions, according to the suit.  The bank is accused of not reporting amortizable bond premiums on tax forms that

Municipals were slightly firmer in spots Friday while U.S. Treasuries saw losses, snapping a two-day rally, following stronger-than-estimated consumer sentiment data. Equities were mixed. Municipals largely ignored the moves in Treasuries after underperforming the rally throughout the week. Some of the outperformance municipals have shown over the past few weeks is due to a dearth

The Indiana Finance Authority will head into the market as soon as Tuesday with Indianapolis-based water and wastewater utility refundings using a tender and forward delivery structure popular in the current market to achieve savings. The Indiana Finance Authority serves as conduit the CWA Authority Inc. in an offering of an $80.7 million first-lien wastewater

Property owners fighting Oklahoma Turnpike Authority extension plans blasted the agency in filings this week with the state supreme court, which is nearing a decision on the validity of initial bonds for the $5 billion project. The briefs took issue with OTA’s response last month to questions from the high court concerning the U.S. Bureau

Benjamin S. Wolfe of Short Hills, New Jersey, a former public finance banker passed away on Saturday, July 8, 2023. He was 85. He was born on Aug. 18, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey, to Bertha and Milton Wolfe. He grew up in Newark and graduated from Weequahic High School before earning a bachelor’s degree

California lawmakers are in negotiations on a bill that would ask voters for $15.5 billion of bond authority to help fill a gap in the state’s plans to spend $54 billion over five years to tackle climate change. The state Senate approved Senate Bill 867 on May 31on a 33-5 vote. The bill, currently in

Nashville, Tennessee received a series of upgrades from S&P Global this week. The credit agency on Monday boosted Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County’s long-term general obligation debt rating to AA+ from AA. The upgrades also apply to obligations supported by its non-tax revenue. The outlook is stable. The action reflected Nashville’s efforts to “strengthen its