Bonds

Adhering to science and reopening the economy is not mutually exclusive, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a New York City watchdog group. “We can reopen but we must be cognizant of the challenges of COVID-19,” Tom Frieden said on a Citizens Budget Commission webcast Thursday. Frieden, now president

Harvey’s alleged lax compliance with management reforms required under a 2014 consent judgment that settled charges of fraudulent bond proceed use prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to file an enforcement action this week. The SEC on Wednesday filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division asking

Chicago’s COVID-19 fiscal wounds spurred Moody’s Investors Service to move its outlook to negative on the city’s already-junk general obligation rating. While shifting the outlook to negative from stable, Moody’s affirmed the Ba1 rating it assigns to $3.7 billion of GOs. It cut the city to speculative grade in 2015. The city has not asked

New Puerto Rico Oversight Board member Justin Peterson said he expected the next fiscal plan for the island will include the payment of debt service and will define essential services. “I would simply highlight the dysfunctionality of the [board’s] approach to date, which has been to use the fiscal plan and the lack of progress

Fitch Ratings cut the outlook to negative from stable Wednesday on Chicago’s BBB-minus general obligation bond rating. The action increases the risk that the city will be saddled with a second speculative-grade bond rating. Moody’s Investors Service cut the city to junk five years ago. Fitch Ratings assigned a negative outlook to Chicago bonds Wednesday.Bloomberg

Michigan released Detroit’s public school system from active fiscal oversight, a reward for fiscal gains that followed the state’s 2016 bailout that brightens its future case for joining the ranks of municipal borrowers. The Detroit Financial Review Commission in a vote this week granted a waiver to Detroit Public Schools and Detroit Public Schools Community

After entering 2020 with a $6 billion surplus, and working its way through several harrowing months, California is now in the hopeful phase, said Scott Wu, executive director of the California Infrastructure and Development Bank. “In some ways, the California story of 2020 resembles that of the rest of the country,” said Wu, a speaker

Long Island’s Suffolk County received authorization to tap a little-used Federal Reserve program for two upcoming note deals, but expects only one will offer better rates than competitive bidding, the county comptroller said. Suffolk Comptroller John M. Kennedy said the county, which is eligible to use the Fed’s Municipal Liquidity Facility, is filing an application

Tuesday’s economic data again suggested strength in some areas and weakness in others, as a read of consumer confidence slipped, while durable goods orders gained more than expected, manufacturing rose, the services sector also improved, and home prices climbed. The consumer confidence index dipped in October to 100.9 from 101.3 in September, ending a two-month

The financial and legal obstacles besetting a long-planned Maryland light rail system could hinder other large-scale transportation public-private partnership projects, analysts said. The Maryland Department of Transportation assumed many contracts from Purple Line Transit Partners this month after the private partner shut down construction of the 16-mile, 21-station light rail line. PLTP is involved in

The Wisconsin Center District will sell $434 million of bonds this week to finance the expansion of Milwaukee’s convention center. Backers say the project will provide an economic jolt to counter the COVID-19 pandemic’s blows in the near term and help the facility better compete over the long term. A rendering depicting an elevated view

Municipal bond buyers will see a wide variety of issues come to market this week, with most of the major sectors represented, with special emphasis on education, transportation and power deals. “It is a relatively high-grade week with a diverse basket of credits. Transportation and power are featured with deals from CTRMA and Santee Cooper,”

Seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board asking it to postpone debt negotiations until an investigation of insider trading can be completed. The seven Democratic members of the House sent the letter Wednesday to board Executive Director Natalie Jaresko. U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva and

This week’s quarterly MSRB board meeting was the first presided over by Mark Kim as CEO.Dan Nelken The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will seek comment on a new draft rule related to solicitor municipal advisors and look for volunteers to serve on two advisory committees. Those decisions came out of the MSRB’s first quarterly board

Municipal bond buyers will see large deals from California, New York and Texas issuers in a calendar that totals almost $16 billion. One again taxable issues will be making a strong showing throughout the week. Ahead of the supply set to thunder into the municipal market, there was a mixed tone on the buy side

Chicago’s ability to avert a downgrade hinges on honoring its rising pension contribution commitments and continuing to move toward structural budget balance as it navigates the COVID-19 pandemic, S&P Global Ratings said. Friday’s S&P bulletin about the city’s proposed 2021 budget lays out some out landmines for the city to avoid and guideposts to stabilize

As the environmental, social and governance market grows within the municipal market, Moody’s Investors Service this week withdrew its Green Bond Assessment product for various corporate and muni bonds after pivoting to using its affiliate Vigeo Eiris to designate sustainable/ESG investments. This move follows the recently announced formation of the Moody’s ESG Solutions Group and

The California revenue report indicating the state is $8.7 billion above budget projections is not quite as rosy as it sounds. Revenues did come in better than expected in the budget approved a few months ago, but they are down from 2019, said David Hitchcock, an S&P Global Ratings analyst. September receipts came in $4.164

With interest rates at historic lows and despite its poor credit ratings. New Jersey’s decision to tap the muni market instead of the Federal Reserve’s lending program for a planned $4 billion borrowing is seen as a prudent strategy by analysts. Opting for long-term general obligation bonds to cover coronavirus revenue losses makes more sense

A comprehensive examination across many sectors reveals institutional barriers and outright racist abuse. How do we end the cycle? Arizent’s new documentary podcast features more than two dozen professionals. In this trailer episode, you’ll hear from the following guests in order of appearance: To hear more, subscribe to Access Denied on Spotify, Apple — or

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused uncertainty, which brought on market volatility. Add in next month’s election, the failure of the government to reach another stimulus deal, and the possibility that low rates may stimulate asset bubbles when things get better, and you may look at the markets and say it could be worse. “Volatility barely

When both origination and forbearance demand spiked in the early weeks of COVID-19, quick thinking lenders were able to leverage their expertise and tech stacks to respond quickly. In this panel discussion from this year’s DigMo event, Phil Shoemaker, President of Originations at Home Point Financial, Tammy Richards, COO of loanDepot and Bob Brandt, Vice

Immediately after the complete list of The Bond Buyer’s fifth class of Rising Stars is revealed at the start of the program, Editor in Chief Mike Scarchilli sits down with three members of the newly minted class of standout municipal finance professionals under the age of 40 to discuss the muni market’s adaptation to and

Better-than-expected reads on Thursday’s economic data indicates the slow rebound continues. Initial jobless claims declined to a seasonally adjusted 787,000 in the week ended Oct. 17, from the previous week’s downwardly revised level of 842,000, originally reported as 898,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by IFR Markets projected 860,000 claims in the week.

Puerto Rico’s employment numbers continued to improve in September. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey total employment in September was up 0.25% from August and 1.6% from April. The bureau also collects an establishment survey of nonfarm employment, called Current Employment Statistics, which showed employment was up 7% since April. It

Chicago’s fix for a $1.2 billion 2021 budget shortfall and remaining 2020 COVID-19 pandemic tax wounds count on $948 million of relief through a $1.7 billion refinancing and restructuring of general obligation and Sales Tax Securitization Corporation debt. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed 2021 budget totals $12.76B when counting all funds, including a $4 billion

Nuveen’s John Miller, the biggest backer of Fortress Investment Group Inc.’s Brightline passenger railroad in Florida, had been skeptical of plans to forge ahead swiftly with a multi-billion dollar venture to build a second line running between Southern California and Las Vegas. But with the company now offering to buy back some of its Florida

Illinois, Wisconsin, Nevada and Washington all sold bonds in the competitive arena into a weakened market, following U.S. Treasuries to higher yields as investors pushed back at current low rates. In secondary trading, municipals turned weaker, with yields on the AAA scales rising by as much as two basis points on some longer-dated maturities. “Tax-exempt

CommonSpirit Health will price $2 billion of debt Wednesday in a deal that raises some new money while taking the next steps in its tinkering with the combined debt portfolio of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives. The Chicago-based system took indications of interest Tuesday on the nearly $1.5 billion of index-eligible taxable paper with

Continued gains in housing starts and building permits reiterated the strength of the housing market, one of the sectors that has done well despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing starts climbed 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted 1.415 million annual rate in September, from a revised August pace of 1.388 million, first reported as 1.416 million, while