Bonds

Moody’s Investors Service raised Louisiana’s general obligation bonds and issuer credit rating to Aa2 from Aa3 Wednesday, citing significant progress the state has made restoring its financial reserves and liquidity. Despite a trend that sees a decline in production and a rise in volatility for its gas and oil industries along with unfavorable demographics, the

Municipals extended their rally Wednesday with triple-A yields falling double-digit basis points following strong secondary trading, while a billion-dollar bond offering from Connecticut took focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries ended slightly better, and equities were in the black. Triple-A yield curves were bumped eight to 10 basis points across the curve with the biggest

Anaheim, California, Mayor Henry Sidhu has resigned amid allegations of corruption involving the city’s sale of Angel Stadium to the Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball team. Sidhu resigned Monday, effective Tuesday, saying it would allow the city to “move forward without distractions” as the FBI investigates allegations that he provided insider information to the

A nonprofit Texas-based retirement community operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday to deal with its troubled debt and sell its assets. Christian Care Centers, which operates three senior living communities in the Dallas area, has $50.17 million of revenue bonds outstanding and owes $3.11 million in accrued and unpaid interest, according to documents filed

Eight state departments of transportation have tapped pandemic funds to cover debt service payments while most of the funds were used to support existing capital projects. Florida used some of its aid for availability payments on a high-profile public-private partnership highway project. “We’ve seen the pandemic funds being used in a variety of ways, which

Municipals strengthened ahead of a light new-issue calendar, while a U.S. Treasury sell-off saw cuts up to nine basis points, and equities ended up. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped two to seven basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose seven to nine basis points five years and out. As a result, muni-to-UST

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said policy makers could potentially pause interest-rate increases in September after hiking by a half point at each of their next two meetings. “I have got a baseline view where for me I think a pause in September might make sense,” Bostic told reporters Monday following a

A group of House Democrats is renewing its challenge to the state and local tax deduction cap by trying to halt regulation that restricts state legislation targeting the deduction cap. It’s the latest skirmish in the ongoing challenge to the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, which was established in 2017 as part

The California attorney general has objected to dismissal on public disclosure grounds of a lawsuit alleging widespread fraud by major banks in the variable-rate market, which under state law prevents the court from dismissing the case on those grounds. The office of Rob Bonta filed its objection to the dismissal with a California appellate court

Connecticut has placed West Haven’s finances under the most severe level of state oversight due to continuing fiscal stress and what the state said was a lack of adequate control by city leaders. On Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont approved the recommendations of the Municipal Accountability Review Board to designate West Haven as a “Tier IV”

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board won an Appeals Court decision on its central government Plan of Adjustment but lost a ruling on its coverage by local document disclosure laws.  The board lost its battle on sovereign immunity, as a federal appeals court ruled in favor of media that requested board documents be released. The board

Factory and port shutdowns in China, the Port of Oakland’s largest trading partner, were a leading factor in a double-digit drop in cargo volume in April, port officials said. Disruptions at Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, are delaying U.S.-bound import shipments and wreaking havoc on ocean carrier scheduling.  “U.S. exports have been hampered by vessel schedules thrown

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority will increase rates, change water meters and take other steps to raise $1 billion over five years to address growing expenses. The board’s fiscal plan includes a 4.95% increase in the base charge in fiscal 2023 and a 2% increase in consumption charges from fiscal 2023 to fiscal

The Municipal Forum of New York honored three industry leaders and awarded a scholarship to an Urban Leadership Fellows at its annual dinner on Thursday. Homer Schaaf, of counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright, was awarded the Forum’s Lifetime Achievement Award; Elizabeth Fine, counsel to the governor of New York, received the Public Service Award; and

Laws proposed or passed by several states prohibiting local governments from paying ransoms in cyberattacks are viewed as an encouraging trend by Moody’s Investors Service. The laws enhance preparedness and incident response, which Moody’s wrote in a commentary, are both credit positives for local governments. “The measures to prohibit ransomware payments will encourage local governments

Municipals were better Friday after catching a bid in the secondary, finally following U.S. Treasuries in a flight-to-quality, while still underperforming, keeping valuations above 100% on the 10- and 30-year. Equities pared back earlier losses to end mixed after the S&P 500 dipped into bear market territory earlier in the session. “The correlation between stocks

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has appealed to the state Supreme Court a May 18 ruling that put the brakes on the state’s high-profile plan to use public-private partnerships to develop nine tolled bridges. Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceiler on May 18 ruled that the $2.2 billion Major Bridge P3 Initiative may be illegal and

Municipals saw an uptick in secondary activity that led to a constructive tone, pushing yields lower for the first time since late April, while still underperforming another day of U.S. Treasury market gains on Thursday. Equities ended mixed after experiencing the worst losses in two years on Wednesday. Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual

Gerald Corrigan, who spent a quarter century at the Federal Reserve, including an eight-year stint as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, died Tuesday in Boston. He was 80. The longtime Fed and Goldman Sachs banker was 80. After leaving the New York Fed in 1993, Corrigan entered the private sector. He

The new infrastructure law provides $15 billion to replace lead service lines, money that advocates and water utilities say will be a strong start to a complicated, years-long effort that will require a mix of financing tools, including WIFIA loans and traditional municipal bonds. But before water systems can start to replace their toxic lines,

Municipals were mixed in secondary trading as large general obligation bond offerings from Illinois and New York City took the focus and saw yields lowered in repricings. U.S. Treasuries were better in a risk-off rally with the biggest gains 10 years and out while equities saw massive losses. Municipal to UST ratios rose further on

Illinois priced $1.64 billion of general obligation debt Wednesday at spreads on par with current trading levels that have more than doubled this year due to market turmoil despite a round of upgrades. A U.S. Treasury market rally helped calm the market, but news of a 17th week of outflows from municipal bond mutual funds

If the Federal Reserve raises its key interest rate somewhat above what it thinks is a “neutral” level for the economy and stops there, that should help bring inflation down from current elevated levels, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said. “If we go 50 basis points beyond that, if we go 75 basis points beyond

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority appears set to lose $169 million or more over the course of a quarter of a year as higher fuel prices have cause it to use nearly half of it’s annual budget for fuel in just three months.  Given the authority’s losses, “there does not appear to be any

St. Louis County, Missouri, takes competitive bids Wednesday on $114 million of special obligation bonds that will provide its long-stalled share of public financing for the expansion and renovation of the downtown convention center. The bonds mature from 2034 to 2047. Columbia Capital Management LLC is advising the county. The bonds are rated AA rating

Environmental, social, and governance factors do not impact the vast majority of Fitch Ratings’ U.S. public finance ratings. That’s according to a recent analysis by Fitch that analyzed how ESG risks are intertwined with credit risks. “We’re just trying to provide some transparency to investors on where ESG risks are also relevant to the credit

FHN Financial Capital Markets will establish its first Midwest banking presence in Chicago, led by Melanie Shaker, and put banking boots on the ground in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the hiring of Rene Moreno. Shaker will join the firm’s existing Chicago office that houses sales professionals on May 24, and Moreno started Monday in what marks

Municipals were little changed and U.S. Treasuries were mixed in what amounted to a relatively quiet day for fixed-income markets, while equities were mixed to end the day. Municipals took more of a wait-and-see approach ahead of a calendar filled with general obligation bonds from credits across the spectrum. Municipal to UST ratios were still

Ohio-based ProMedica Health System lost one of its investment-grade ratings and remains at risk of losing its other two as the COVID-19 pandemic’s wounds run deep, especially in its senior living division. Fitch Ratings on Friday dropped ProMedica’s rating to BB-plus from BBB-minus and warned of the potential for further erosion by assigning a negative

Puerto Rico’s government plans to tax profits of foreign corporations with manufacturing facilities on the island to replace funds lost as the U.S. ends the tax credit that supports Puerto Rico’s Act 154 tax on foreign corporations. In the late summer 2019, then-U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Puerto Rico’s government the Internal Revenue Service