Bonds

November’s election carries potentially high stakes for universities and colleges that have already found themselves facing the glare of Capitol Hill’s spotlight over the past year. The new administration and Congress are expected to take up tax reform next year, which could reshape the tax treatment of nonprofit higher-education institutions. House Republicans have criticized the

Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Ratings downgraded Xavier University, a private Jesuit college in Cincinnati, to A-minus from A and to Baa1 from A3, respectively, last week.  Fitch pointed to the school’s decision to take on more debt to finance the construction of a new College of Osteopathic Medicine at a time when operating performance has

Municipals were weaker Tuesday with the largest losses out long while U.S. Treasuries saw narrow gains on the day and equities ended up. Triple-A yields rose by up to five basis points, depending on the scale, while USTs saw yields flat or lower by a basis point or two. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was

An ongoing investigation into overcharging on San Diego’s state route 125 toll road found implementation of the back-office system encountered problems from the onset, and San Diego Association of Governments’ executive management failed to address the situation in a timely manner, including informing the board of directors. SANDAG’s independent performance auditor released two investigations Monday

Illinois’ bonds are underappreciated, Wells Fargo Head of Municipal Markets Strategy Vikram Rai said Monday as he released a report on the state titled, “Why Illinois Beckons.” “All the negative news was drowning out all the positive news and the positive developments about Illinois’ improving story,” Rai said during Monday’s municipal market weekly call, noting

The District of Columbia is saddled with slowed jobs and economic growth, but has still managed to score a boost in five credit ratings from Moody’s Ratings. “Moody’s upgrades are a testament to the district’s solid financial management and strong economic fundamentals,” said Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee.  “We are extremely pleased by this recognition

Investors have been pumping larger amounts of cash into muni mutual funds over the past several weeks due to positive returns for the asset class and some clarity from the first Federal Reserve rate cut, with some market participants believing a larger inflow cycle is only beginning. Mutual funds saw inflows to the tune of

A new board of supervisors and a new name shouldn’t impact the first bond sale by the district enveloping Disney’s theme parks since Florida stripped Disney of its control of the district, but Hurricane Milton’s impact is a concern, analysts said. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which had been the Reedy Creek Improvement District,

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has named Elena M. Gallo as its new head of government banking, where she will oversee the bank’s commercial banking division that serves more than 3,000 government agencies, public utilities, transportation, and housing authorities across 43 states and the District of Columbia. Gallo will replace Mara Holley, who is retiring after

When Chicago’s City Council meets on Wednesday, it will decide whether to sell controversial refunding bonds and deal with Friday’s resignation of the entire seven-member Chicago Public Schools board. According to the agenda, the finance committee at its Oct. 2 meeting approved an ordinance authorizing the refunding of the city’s Series 2024 general obligation and

The University of Arizona heads to the municipal bond market this week with its first bond issue since financial troubles led to negative rating outlooks from Moody’s Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. The $115.645 million of Stimulus Plan for Economic and Educational Development, or SPEED, revenue bonds issued through the Arizona Board of Regents will

Moody’s upgraded Pennsylvania’s issuer default rating to Aa2 from Aa3 Monday, ahead of the commonwealth’s plans to sell at least $1.4 billion of general obligation bonds.  The Keystone State is now at its highest rating since 2013, before the state’s finances were mired by partisan conflict between and among the two houses of the legislature

Investors will have a chance to buy New York City’s third-ever social-labeled general obligation bonds this week. Comptroller Brad Lander said he has high hopes for the taxable $1.5 billion deal despite the awkwardness of Mayor Eric Adams’ recent federal criminal indictment on bribery charges.  “[The credit rating agencies] have reported they believe the city’s

Texas Capital is expanding its public finance team with the addition of five industry professionals, the Dallas-based financial services firm announced Friday. The public finance business was launched in May with the hiring of Steve Genyk, a former public finance head at UBS, as a managing director. The move came as the ranks of underwriters

Municipals saw further weakness Monday following more losses in U.S. Treasuries while equities ended down as investors digest rising oil prices amid geopolitical tensions and uncertain macroeconomic data ahead. Muni yields were cut up two to five basis points, depending on the curve, while UST yields rose five to seven basis points, pushing the 10-year

Cleveland will return to market Wednesday with the first of two bond deals slated for this month. That deal, an approximately $64.395 million general obligation offering, will fund improvements to public facilities, parks and recreational buildings and bridges and roadways. The second deal, $90 million of water revenue bonds to finance capital projects and purchase

Tom Falcone, former CEO of the Long Island Power Authority, was unanimously elected president of the Large Public Power Council, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Falcone said the position is a natural continuation of his work with public power utilities throughout his career. “As an investment banker financing projects, as somebody who was at a utility

The Texas state comptroller and attorney general asked a federal court on Friday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2021 law that bans governmental contracts with banks and other financial firms determined to be “boycotting” the fossil fuel industry. The filing asserts plaintiff American Sustainable Business Council lacks standing to bring the

The Maryland Stadium Authority is coming to market with a $413.4 million issuance of tax- exempt revenue bonds that will finance construction and renovations to Maryland schools.   “We expect good demand from in-state retail and separately-managed account buyers, but we also expect interest from national investors,” said Patrick Luby, senior municipal bonds strategist at CreditSights.  

As the southeast region reels from Hurricane Helene and as another potential major storm bears down on Florida this week, a group of finance agencies is urging Congress to create disaster recovery bonds that would give cities, towns and states immediate access to low-cost financing after a natural or manmade disaster. The Council of Development

Moody’s Ratings upgraded $3.02 billion in Miami-Dade County transit bonds to Aa2 from A1 and convention development tax bonds to Aa3 from A2 on Thursday. The broad nature of the revenue pledge and strong 2.4 times maximum annual debt service coverage supported the upgrade, the agency said. The revenues have had limited volatility and a