Bonds

UBS voluntarily resigned as a co-manager from a Texas city bond issue that priced this week in the wake of the company’s placement on the state comptroller’s list of fossil fuel industry boycotters. Kerrville, Texas, Finance Director Julie Behrens confirmed on Friday that UBS had “voluntarily withdrawn” from the city’s $44.4 million general obligation bond

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority is running out of money as federal aid declines and many riders have not returned to the mass transit system in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of fiscal 2024, the MTA estimates federal pandemic relief funds will be exhausted and projects budget gaps of up

U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority CEO Andrew Smith said he expects a court will order WAPA to repay employee pension contributions over time despite the pension organization’s suit demanding immediate repayment. The repayment plan would be to pay off the $2.2 million in past due employee contributions to the system that WAPA owes.

Former Stifel banker James Cervantes was appointed chair of the California Housing Finance Agency’s board of directors by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Cervantes, who joined the board earlier this year, retired from Stifel in October 2020. He was a Stifel California managing director and, for a time, ran Stone & Youngberg, acquired by Stifel in 2011.

Federal authorities Thursday gave final environmental approval to Maryland’s plan to add four toll lanes to the Capital Beltway. Gov. Larry Hogan’s signature project, which he hopes to deliver as a public private partnership, can now move toward finalizing a 50-year contract with Accelerate Maryland Partners, a consortium that’s led by Australian firms Transurban and

The trio of major bills signed into law by President Biden will inject more than $800 billion of climate-related investments into the U.S. economy. That’s according to Samantha Medlock, senior counsel for the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, who spoke yesterday at a Climate Summit webinar hosted by the publication GovExec. The Bipartisan

Municipals were mixed Thursday as the market took a breather ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, while U.S. Treasuries improved five years and out and equities ended in the black. Outflows from municipal bond mutual funds intensified as investors pulled $1.180 billion out of funds in the latest week, versus the $229.263

Long-end munis were much weaker Wednesday while a large new-issue from the New York City Transitional Finance Authority took focus in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were saw losses along the curve and equities made gains ahead of the Jackson Hole event that starts Thursday. Triple-A municipal yields rose two to 10 basis points with the

UBS Group is the only bank that underwrites municipal bonds on the list the Texas comptroller released Wednesday of 10 financial companies determined to be boycotting the fossil fuel industry under a 2021 law aimed at protecting the state’s oil and natural gas businesses. Placement on the list could jeopardize UBS’ participation as a co-manager

Municipals were a touch weaker Tuesday, but the focus was on a large new-issue day with airport revenue bonds from Minneapolis-St. Paul and transportation revenue bonds from Delaware leading the calendar. Treasuries saw smaller losses out longer with the 10-year closing above 3% again while equities ended in the red as economic data disappointed. Triple-A

Directors at two of the Federal Reserve’s 12 regional branches favored a 100-basis-point increase in the discount rate in July, minutes of discount-rate meetings show. The boards of the St. Louis and Minneapolis banks voted for a bigger move on July 14, the Fed said in a statement released Tuesday. A day earlier, a report

The tone for munis was mixed Monday as they mostly ignored broader weakness in U.S. Treasuries while equities sold off as the markets continue to weigh what’s to come from Federal Reserve officials later this week in Jackson Hole. Triple-A yields rose one to three basis points, depending on the curve, while U.S. Treasuries saw

Chicago-owned O’Hare International Airport heads into the market next week with $1.77 billion of across-the-board A-plus-rated paper after two upgrades. The city will sell the bonds in four series offering a mix of paper subject to the alternative minimum tax and non-AMT with $1.3 billion being raised for projects and the remainder refunding outstanding debt

Puerto Rico’s power problems continue, with at least two major blackouts in the past week, leading to a rising wave of criticism of Puerto Rico’s LUMA Energy, which may force its departure and could impact the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority debt restructuring. LUMA’s future may be influenced by the PREPA debt negotiations. It currently

S&P Global Ratings Friday revised its outlook to positive from stable on New Jersey general obligation bonds. The rating agency highlighted the state government’s recent payments to its underfunded state pension system. “The outlook revision follows the second consecutive year the state has budgeted the full annual actuarially determined contribution to its retirement systems,” S&P

Municipals closed out the week with more weakness with yields rising up to 10 basis points on the short end of the yield curve, following U.S. Treasuries to higher yields while equities ended down. The one-year triple-A benchmark saw smaller cuts with yields rising up to four basis points, depending on the scale, while two-,

A deluge of ratepayer-backed utility debt in the wake of 2021’s Winter Storm Uri continues with a Kansas regulator approving the state’s first securitization deal. The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) on Thursday unanimously passed an irrevocable financing order allowing Kansas Gas Service to issue securitized bonds to recover $328 million in costs incurred during the

Long-term education debt reached its highest levels on record in 2020, the most recent data sample available, reaching $505 billion. That’s highlighted in Reason Foundation’s recent K-12 Education Spending Spotlight, which leans on U.S. Census Bureau data to show long-term debt has reached its highest level since the organization began releasing the report in 2002.

Cities and states facing elevated construction costs face an unappetizing menu of choices ranging from more borrowing to delaying projects, each of which carry their own set of credit risks. Elevated construction costs also mean fewer bids for public projects, as contractors are likely to opt first for the private sector, particularly when the market

Municipals were weaker again Thursday led by continued pressure on the short end while municipal bond mutual funds saw outflows for the second consecutive week. Triple-A yield curves saw cuts of up to nine basis points on bonds five years and in, depending on the curve, while U.S. Treasuries made small gains to close out