Bonds

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology violated its bond covenant at the beginning of the month when it missed a monthly $1.2 million interest payment to the bond trustee. Jessica Warren, Harrisburg University’s executive director of marketing and communications, said the university only needs to make interest payments twice a year on its outstanding bond

The flooding in Vermont last summer illustrates climate change’s impact on U.S. localities and their financial responses. Severe floods that were triggered by several days of heavy rainfall in Vermont left homes washed out and businesses and municipal facilities with severe physical damage. It also left some of the rural communities in the state, which

As states and the federal government grapple with ways to replace or complement the diminishing gas tax, the idea of a per-mile user fee has gained public support over the last decade. That’s according to the latest annual survey from the Mineta Transportation Institute, based at San Jose State University, which for the last 15

Debt issued by the California Community Choice Finance Authority, a conduit for the state’s community choice aggregators, has climbed to nearly $10 billion in the three years since its inception. The first California CCA agency was created in 2010 to offer communities alternatives to purchasing power from private utilities and to encourage growth in more

The U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s financial situation is the worst in more than 30 years, one board director said Thursday. Board Director Hubert Turnbull made the remark at the board’s monthly meeting as a prelude to asking CEO Andrew Smith to explain the authority’s financial situation. WAPA had to turn to the

Municipals sold off Thursday with more cuts across the curve as a correction has ensued for the asset class just ahead of the summer reinvestment season. U.S. Treasuries saw losses and equities were also in the red. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows as investors pulled $217.6 million from the funds

The South has been the driving force for United States population growth in recent years – in 2023 for example, the region accounted for 87% of the nation’s population growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That population growth has helped spur economic growth in that region. But the changing climate may turn that equation

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has retired nine separate pieces of interpretive guidance related to Rule G-12(c) on inter-dealer confirmations following the board’s request for comment on the rule. The move follows recent comments submitted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association that urged the board to knock out the provision altogether, and the

Munis were weaker Wednesday as the primary market saw a slew of new deals price, adding pressure to secondary market trading. U.S. Treasury yields rose throughout most of the curve and equities ended down. Triple-A yields rose as much as 11 basis points while USTs were weaker by five basis points. As munis have seen

Morgan Stanley continues to beef up its muni team with two more key hires. Dan Tomson, Citi’s former co-head of Municipal Banking and Public Finance, and David Stephan, a former J.P. Morgan executive director, have joined the firm. These hires come a few months after Morgan Stanley hired four former Citi public finance employees, three

Municipals weakened further Tuesday in secondary trading as a large new-issue slate took focus in the primary market. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were in the black. Muni yields were cut up to seven basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell two to three basis points, pushing muni to UST ratios

Illinois needs to address questions surrounding its Tier 2 pension benefits, and while directly fixing Tier 2’s alleged failure to meet the IRS’s minimum safe harbor standard would be credit neutral, enhancing Tier 2 benefits more broadly or erasing the distinction between Tier 1 and Tier 2 could result in a downgrade, Fitch Ratings said

Greensboro, North Carolina, is expected to price $175 million of bonds next week, $25 million of which are taxable bonds, with the proceeds being used to redeem outstanding bond anticipation notes. The North Carolina Local Government Commission approved the Greensboro bonds earlier this month as well as $212 million of bonds from Raleigh, with an

The Municipal Forum of New York presented three awards to industry leaders and veterans at its annual awards and leadership fellows fundraising dinner.  Recipients included Marjorie Henning, retired deputy comptroller for public finance for the New York City Comptroller’s office; Albert Simons, retired partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; and New York City Budget Director

Virginia Beach tapped the municipal bond market to help fund a surf park development backed by multi-Grammy award winning artist Pharrell Williams.  The Virginia Beach Development Authority priced about $189 million of debt on Thursday with some of the bond proceeds financing the construction of a 3,500-person entertainment venue, parking facilities and land acquisitions, as

Municipals were steady to slightly weaker in spots ahead of a $12 billion-plus calendar, while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were mixed near the close There are nearly 30 new-issues over $100 million on tap across the credit spectrum, led by the week’s largest negotiated deal from Harris County, Texas, with $950 million of

A Senate Finance Committee hearing led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, contemplated ways to smooth funding for rural hospitals as the number in the red has spiked in recent years. Rural hospitals and clinics across the U.S., including in Oregon, have been particularly hard hit by the challenges facing healthcare over the past several years.

States are casting around for solutions to a drop in gas tax revenues which includes hiked registration fees and the expansion of toll roads, which remains politically sensitive.  “Various projections from state DOTs, think tanks, and economists show that gas tax revenue, which is the largest source of revenue for state transportation trust funds, is

The median audit time for all municipal bond sectors rose nearly 10.5% from 2011 to 2022, according to a new report from the University of Illinois-Chicago and Merritt Research Services.  The report also found a direct correlation between audit timeliness and credit rating for all governmental bond sectors and a majority of revenue bond sectors.

The Federal Reserve’s delay of interest-rate cuts in a bid to temper inflation runs the risk of falling behind the curve, according to Mohamed El-Erian. “The Fed pivoted on the basis of data. It was the opposite of the pivot that they did in December — now they have to do a U-turn,” El-Erian, the