New Jersey received its second upward outlook revision in three months from Moody’s Investors Service, which on Tuesday lifted its outlook on the state’s general obligation debt to positive from stable. The move affects $40 billion of rated debt. “The state has responded to a brightening revenue and liquidity picture with several actions reflecting a
Bonds
Municipals were little changed Tuesday, ignoring another rise in U.S. Treasuries and a weaker stock market, with the focus on the primary which saw deals bumped in repricings. Another day of UST weakness after less-than-stellar auctions and municipals stayed in their own lane. Some participants said without the UST rise in yields, municipal benchmarks likely
Lagging attendance at the home of the King of Rock and Roll continues to batter the tourist-tax municipal bonds that were issued to gussy it up. The bonds were sold in 2017 for a development project at Graceland, the former residence and now resting place of Elvis Presley, which has become a worldwide tourist attraction
New York City has added Kroll as a fourth bond rating agency. The organization posted its AA-plus rating and stable outlook for the city’s general obligation bonds on its website Monday. “We are pleased that the city followed through on our office’s suggestion that we obtain a credit rating for our general obligation bonds from
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will announce its fiscal year 2022 chair, vice chair and four new members of the board following its meeting next week. That announcement will follow the MSRB’s search for new members, which it announced in November 2020. The MSRB said at that time it was searching especially for issuers and
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board reached a verbal agreement with bond insurers on a debt repayment plan on Wednesday, two days after they reached an agreement with unsecured creditors representing the largest debt holders in the negotiations. Lawyers at Proskauer Rose LLP representing the Oversight Board, and federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain, agreed to delay
Chicago Public Schools laid out a proposed $9.3 billion fiscal 2022 budget that directs $707 million towards capital and spends down about $1 billion of the district’s $2.6 billion of federal relief to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 raises spending by about $900 million
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will sign newly-passed legislation handing mayoral control of the Chicago Public Schools to a fully-elected school board by 2027 even as negotiations continue over some board rules and the impact on the city’s $500 million in annual financial obligations. The package laid out in an amendment to House Bill 2908 was
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed rule on the fair dealing obligations of solicitor municipal advisors is in need of clarification, MAs and dealers believe, particularly with respect to disclosure of where such professionals owe their loyalty. Comment letters filed with the MSRB late Thursday struck that common theme in response to the MSRB’s draft
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he would sign legislation authorizing adult-use cannabis after lawmakers approved it. “The states surrounding us already, or soon will, have legal adult-use markets,” Lamont said Thursday after the Senate approved the measure by a 16-11 vote, with nine senators abstaining. “We’re not only effectively modernizing our laws and addressing inequities,
Providence officials may have to scramble for a Plan B as Mayor Jorge Elorza’s proposal for up to $850 million of pension-obligation borrowing sits stalled in the state legislature. State General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, a Democrat, called the enabling legislation too risky and Republican state chairman Steven Frias called the measure “a pension obligation bomb.”
Municipal bond yields rose by as much as seven basis points in the belly of the curve Thursday, playing catch-up to the U.S. Treasury market, while Refinitiv Lipper reported another large round of inflows, a nod from investors that they remain engaged in the market, regardless of low rates. Refinitiv Lipper reported $1.85 billion of
Illinois spread penalties narrowed this month to levels in line with its ratings for the first time in years as the state reaps the benefits of swelling tax revenues, federal cash and a market looking for scarce yield. The state’s 10-year spread currently stands at 63 basis points higher than Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s AAA
Municipal bond yields rose on the short end Friday as munis again played catch up to the moves in short U.S. Treasuries and investors became more aggressive in bid lists for high-grade paper. The UST note, 0.785% on Tuesday, touched 0.96% in the afternoon and was at 0.89% near the close Friday, leading to the
A new opinion issued by the Justice Department says Puerto Rico’s admission as a state could legally include a transition period to temporarily continue the special bankruptcy provisions under PROMESA. That’s good news for the ongoing restructuring of the territory’s debt because it provides an assurance that statehood would not necessarily involve an abrupt dissolution
Inflation risks may warrant the Federal Reserve beginning raising interest rates next year, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said, backing an even-earlier liftoff than penciled in by many of his colleagues. “I put us starting in late 2022,” Bullard said Friday during a TV interview on CNBC, referring to interest-rate projections published Wednesday by
Parties have filed nearly 30 objections to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s proposed Disclosure Statement for its central government debt Plan of Adjustment, with a key complaint coming from the Puerto Rico government, which said it will not authorize new bonds if pensions are cut. The parties had until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to file
The accelerated return of passenger demand combined with federal aid earned the Port of Seattle an outlook boost from Fitch Ratings ahead of plans to price $810 million of revenue bonds next week. The agency oversees the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and is a 50% owner of the Northwest Seaport Alliance, a marine cargo operating partnership
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved 38-26 a $547 billion surface transportation bill early Thursday with the support of only two Republicans. The five-year Highway Trust Fund reauthorization still requires action by the House Ways and Means Committee to approve revenue measures for financing the bill. Ways and Means also has jurisdiction over tax
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi signed a bill Wednesday rejecting any pension cuts and undoing pension reforms enacted in 2017, despite these cuts and adjustments being part of the proposed plan of adjustment and approved fiscal plan. “The public pensioners dedicated years of their lives to the service of our people and were the engine