Bonds

Highland Park, Michigan, would get a $20 million lifeline under an appropriation Senate Democrats put in their version of the state budget to help pay down a $24 million water and sewer debt the city has warned could drive it into bankruptcy. The city just north of Detroit owes the Great Lakes Water Authority $24

The Seattle region’s Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority has racked up another series of low-interest loans from the federal government, totaling $327 million. So far, Sound Transit, a light rail, commuter rail and express bus service serving the Seattle metropolitan region, is the largest beneficiary of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau,

New Jersey faces the uncertain economic conditions ahead with historic reserves, a trimmed-down debt profile, and a slew of upgrades from the major bond rating agencies. The state has received six upgrades in a little over a year, including four in April alone, one from each of the four major rating agencies. The Kroll Bond

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he thinks the U.S. central bank can still achieve a soft landing, with inflation returning to the Fed’s 2% target without triggering a significant downturn. “Yes, the economy could go into recession, but that’s not the base case,” Bullard told the Economic Club of Minneapolis

Wells Fargo’s role as senior manager in a potential $500 million bond sale for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is under review after the bank landed on the state treasurer’s list of companies banned from government contracts.  The 13 financial institutions on the list released Wednesday were determined to be boycotting the oil and gas industry

Municipals improved Thursday while outflows from municipal bond mutual funds rose to more than $800 million. U.S. Treasuries were better on bonds five years and in and equities ended down as more news of troubled regional banks and the continued debt ceiling standoff in Washington hangs over markets. Triple-A benchmarks were firmer, with yields falling

The nation’s housing cost and availability crisis — particularly acute in California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii — has those states’ governors throwing everything they can at the problem in the hope of knocking it down. All four states face the dual issues of a shortage of affordable housing and entrenched homelessness, the latter of which

Looking at the market’s choppiness and heavy supply, Columbus decided last week to push of its new money and refunding to this week, but little did officials know that the U.S. Treasury would throw a curve ball by suspending the sale of State and Local Government Series securities. City Auditor Megan Kilgore said the city’s

It’s official. No municipal bonds will be able to be issued in the state of Florida under the environmental, social or governance label or by using an ESG bond verifier. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed the bill passed last week by the Legislature that bans the issuance of municipal bonds using ESG precepts. House

The Virginia Public School Authority plans to issue $63.2 million of School Technology and Security Notes to support the state’s capital program for school rehabilitation. The five-year, tax-exempt Series XI notes are expected to be issued by competitive sale in denominations of $5,000 on or around May 9, according to the authority. The school authority anticipates

In an effort to encourage issuers to use technology to attract new bond investors, BondLink will recognize the best advancements aimed at investors. BondLink, which builds technology products and investor relations pages aimed at helping modernize the muni market, named five winners of its inaugural “Investor Relations Awards.” The winners, five municipalities in three categories,

Las Vegas, Nevada, had its issuer default rating upgraded to AA from AA-minus by Fitch Ratings, which cited favorable visitor trends, healthier-than-anticipated revenues and federal aid. A stable ratings outlook has been assigned. The upgrade affects the series 2004 limited tax general obligation bonds issued by the Las Vegas Special Improvement District. The special improvement

Texas voters will decide the fate of 246 bond propositions totaling $26.67 billion on Saturday as the amount of debt on ballots continues a climb driven by public school district construction projects.  Schools account for 92.5% of the property tax-backed debt in the upcoming election, according to Texas Bond Review Board data. Their new proposals

As it approaches a deadline on a state-backed incentive package, electric automaker Rivian faces fresh legal headaches in its plans for a $5 billion production plant in rural Georgia. A deal negotiated between Rivian, the Georgia Economic Development Commission, and the Joint Development Authority for Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton Counties, with the blessing of

The rate of capture of sales and use taxes supporting the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. (COFINA) bonds has improved, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department said. The collection rate compared to the legally liable amount was 77% in fiscal 2022, a study by the Treasury’s Office of Economic and Financial Affairs showed. That compared

Municipals were steady throughout most of the curve ahead of a new-issue calendar of $6 billion. U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were mixed. “Investors’ jitters in the lead up to next week’s Fed meeting resulted in some large macro market moves and a rise in volatility,” noted BofA Securities strategists in a weekly report.

Indianapolis Public Schools and at least 30 Michigan school district voters will decide Tuesday the fate of more than $2.5 billion worth of borrowing for infrastructure work, new schools, and safety-related projects. Indianapolis Public Schools seeks $410 million for projects throughout the district with 23 schools in line for improvements. The borrowing would help pay

A California appellate court Thursday resurrected a lawsuit accusing prominent Wall Street banks of conspiring to manipulate the variable-rate debt market. The 1st District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling less than two days after hearing arguments in the case, which dates back nearly 10 years. It’s the latest turn in a series

The revised $106.7 billion fiscal 2024 budget proposed by Mayor Eric Adams is the largest spending plan ever for New York City and while it contains near-record reserves, it also projects growing budget gaps in future years. “Our fiscal year 2024 budget is balanced at $106.7 billion. That is $4 billion more than it was in

Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson named a transition committee and subcommittee leadership Thursday that draws from members of the city’s business, activist, and governmental communities to help shape his administration’s strategies and priorities. Johnson charged the group with crafting a written report in the coming week to guide the administration that takes office May 15th. “We