Bonds

Figuring out the long-term effects of the pandemic on public finance issues attached to the urban cores of major US cities still requires a dartboard and a crystal ball, especially while municipalities are currently flush with cash. The comments came during a Thursday panel discussion hosted by the Volcker Alliance to explore the still unfolding

Growth in U.S. prices is expected to ease in the year ahead, contacts surveyed in the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book said. “Selling prices increased at a modest or moderate pace in most districts, though many said that the pace of increases had slowed from that of recent reporting periods,” the Fed said Wednesday in

Texas lawmakers are eyeing an endowment to aid universities not receiving revenue generated by a prolific oil and natural gas producing region, which recently dodged a near-term federal crackdown on pollution.  The state Senate’s $130 billion budget bill for the fiscal 2024-25 biennium introduced Wednesday includes $2.5 billion to create an endowment for schools not

Chicago’s Sales Tax Securitization Corp. will take retail orders Wednesday on a long-planned issue that prioritizes local buyers on the city’s first bonds to carry a social bond designation and gives special consideration for environmental, social, and governance investors. The STSC offers $305.3 million of tax-exempt paper in three series — including $98 million of

Michigan’s projected surplus swelled to more than $9 billion in a new revenue forecast, giving the state a healthy cushion to cut taxes and lift at least one-time spending while managing economic clouds ahead, state officials said.   The state is now expected to have closed out fiscal 2022 in September with revenues of $33

Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ proposed biennial budget for fiscal years 2024-2025 seeks to continue a public infrastructure overhaul started in her first term without raising taxes or touching reserve accounts. Instead, it frees up billions in new infrastructure spending by taking advantage of the state’s unexpectedly high estimated revenue of $10.5 billion in addition to

Municipals were a bit stronger Friday as traders geared up to see a rather healthy slate of new issues head to market during a holiday-shortened trading week. Volume for the upcoming week is estimated at $8.34 billion, consisting of $6.30 billion of negotiated deals and $2.04 billion of competitive sales. The biggest deal of the

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s revenues took a hit in 2022, reflecting a tough year for business as underwriting fees fell sharply.  That’s according to the MSRB’s 2022 Annual Report, which showed the board’s total assets in 2022 drop to $68 million, down from $78.5 million in 2021 and $83.1 million in 2020. Mark Kim,

A question mark looms large this year over whether hospitals and health systems will see sufficient recovery from 2022’s operating wounds to spare them from rating and outlook deterioration, rating agencies warn. The not-for-profit hospital sector suffered bruising margin wounds last year as it confronted inflationary costs along with ongoing supply-chain issues, labor shortages and

Plans for a youth sports destination in Arizona to refinance its way out of financial trouble have yet to come to fruition, and the clock appears to be ticking. Bell Bank Park, which opened on schedule in January 2022 and publicly claims to be a smash success, with 4.3 million guests in its first year,

New York City’s $102.7 billion fiscal 2024 budget is balanced and maintains a record level of reserves while holding spending in check even as economic uncertainty casts a shadow over the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Still analysts bemoaned the lack of additional monies for the rainy-day fund, especially with potential budgetary challenges from

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded southern New Jersey’s Cooper Health System to A3 from Baa1. The action affects about $312 million of debt. The outlook, previously positive, is stable at the new, higher rating. The upgrade comes as the nonprofit hospital operator, marketed as Cooper University Health Care, begins to carry out a $2 billion ten-year

Municipals were firmer Thursday as inflows into muni mutual funds returned and triple-A benchmarks continued to fall, underperforming a U.S. Treasury rally after the consumer price index report showed inflation is cooling. Equities ended up. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 58%, the five-year at 62%, the 10-year at 68% and the 30-year at 91%,

Muni leaders are airing disagreements and concerns about the Financial Data Transparency Act and other recent developments, highlighting some long-simmering tensions over how issuers disclose information to the market. The multi-pronged discussion on FDTA and other hot topics occurred Thursday at the Richard Ravitch Public Finance Initiative Launch Symposium sponsored by the Volcker Alliance and

Facing a $22.5 billion shortfall in fiscal 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to reverse plans outlined in this year’s budget to cash-fund some capital projects. Using debt financing would allow for more flexibility in the 2023-24 budget, according to the preliminary budget proposal Newsom introduced Tuesday. “We had a $73 billion surplus in fiscal

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said she’s leaning toward supporting a quarter-point interest rate hike at the central bank’s next meeting ending Feb. 1 as officials near a peak in borrowing costs. Downshifting to a smaller move from the more aggressive rate increases the Fed rolled out last year would give officials

House Republicans Tuesday tapped Missouri Rep. Sam Graves as chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The move was expected, as Graves has served as the committee’s ranking Republican for four years, where he worked alongside now-retired former chair Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. The T&I committee has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation, including roads,

Municipals were slightly firmer in spots, while U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended up. The three-year muni-UST ratio was at 58%, the five-year at 61%, the 10-year at 66% and the 30-year at 89%, according to Refinitiv MMD’s final 3 p.m. ET read. ICE Data Services had the three at 58%, the five at

Advisors and underwriters have until next week to submit their qualifications to work on Chicago Transit Authority financings as the agency embarks on a major train line extension and hunts for solutions to a looming fiscal cliff. The CTA asks broker-dealers to describe financing ideas to “address the CTA’s operating or capital funding needs in

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s $36 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 seeks to raise capital spending without adding debt and bolster reserves. McMaster told lawmakers in a letter last week he wants to take full advantage of the state’s unexpected $3.8 billion budget surplus ahead of a potential recession. “South Carolina’s booming economy