Bonds

U.S. transit systems may not always offer accurate forecasts for when their trains will arrive, but for years, the country’s largest transit agencies have made one very solid prediction: they will run out of money in fiscal 2025.  As the agencies spend the last of their federal COVID-19 relief funds, ridership has failed to recover

An Oklahoma judge on Friday issued a permanent injunction against the enforcement of a 2022 state law that led to four investment banks being banned from underwriting municipal bonds and the targeting of other financial firms for divestment purposes.  Oklahoma County District Court Judge Sheila Stinson took the action “based upon the act being unconstitutionally

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of another week of healthy issuance. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended down. Tax-exempts, aided by rallying USTs, are “enjoying a relatively strong start” to the second half, said Barclays strategists Mikhail Foux and Clare Pickering. Investment-grade and high-yield returns “have been remarkably similar, though — on the

California voters consider environmental policy so important, according to a recent poll, that it could influence who they support for president. Most favor a $10 billion bond measure proposed to pay for flood control and climate resiliency projects, and the majority plan to cast their ballots for President Joe Biden in the deep blue state.

The Board of Directors of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will try to iron out some thorny issues when they meet on July 24-25, for their final quarterly gathering this fiscal year. Establishing priorities for the next fiscal year and approving the FY 2025 budget to advance its strategic plan are among the agenda items.

Lack of capacity at state transportation departments share some of the blame for infamously high infrastructure costs in the U.S. compared to other countries. On the other hand, procurement practices that increase competition among contractors help bring down costs, said Will Nober, an economics doctoral student at Columbia University, Zachary Liscow, a professor at Yale

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York sold $1.2 billion of revenue bonds last week to good demand, with spreads coming in tighter compared to a DASNY negotiated deal that priced last year. “Overall the bond sale was a success,” said DASNY spokesperson Jeffrey Gordon. “[Last week’s sale] benefited from a calm market

State and municipal retirements system are on track this year to outperform their investment targets from last year and push up the funded ratio, according to Equable, a non-profit that works with public retirement system stakeholders to solve pension funding challenges. The public pension funding shortfall will drop to $1.3 trillion this year from $1.6

Short-term munis were slightly firmer Thursday as muni mutual funds saw continued inflows and the primary market slowed. U.S. Treasuries yields rose and equities sold off. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Thursday was at 64%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 68%, the 10-year at 67% and the 30-year at 83%, according to Refinitiv Municipal

Financed with a mix of bonds, general revenue funds and some federal funding, Missouri this month kicked off a major expansion of Interstate 70, which runs parallel to the Missouri River and links St. Louis with Kansas City. The project, which spans 200 miles from Blue Springs to Wentzville, involves repairing the existing four lanes

As states tinker with laws that restrict pension investments in funds that favor environment, social, and governance factors, the debate over strategy and long-term fiscal responsibility continues between red and blue state treasurers who oversee investment policies.  “I tell people I don’t care so much how you’re doing this quarter. I care about how you’re doing

Single-party dominance in a state appears to lead to modest but measurable savings for local governments and lower yields in the secondary municipal bond market. The impact of a state trifecta on secondary market bond yields is more pronounced when the state has laws that investors perceive as raising default risk, such as allowing unconditional

Texas general fund revenue so far in fiscal 2024 remains on target with the state’s October estimate forgoing the need for a July revision in the forecast, while a projection for the yearend balance could fluctuate, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported Wednesday. An $18.3 balance projected in October for the end of the triple-A-rated state’s

S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating outlook to negative from stable on Loyola University of New Orleans, citing weakening enrollment. The agency rates the school’s debt BBB. As of summer 2023, the school had $283 million in debt outstanding. “The negative outlook reflects a significant decline in total enrollment in fall 2024 due to challenges

Raymond James hired George “Jay” Wheatley as a managing director and municipal underwriter, the bank announced Tuesday. Wheatley joins Raymond James from Citigroup‘s municipal bond department. He is the firm’s 12th hire from Citi this year, following the 11 former Citi public finance employees who moved to Raymond James earlier this year. Wheatley worked in

State and local issuers engaging in the offer and sale of municipal securities must comply with the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws, namely Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In that context, it is unlawful for such issuers to make any untrue statement

New climate change rules for Federal Emergency Management Agency flood aid should generally be a credit positive for the Southeast, analysts say. Though FEMA released the finalized rule July 10 with an effective date of Sept. 9, some of the rule changes are already being applied.  The new rule will require FEMA to consider climate

Municipals were little changed Wednesday as the primary market saw another busy day, led by an upsized $2.5 billion from the New York City Transitional Finance Authority and $1.3 billion from the Regents of the University of California. U.S. Treasuries were slightly firmer and equities were mixed toward the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday

The threat of cybercrime perpetrated against municipalities continues to mutate into more sophisticated and life-threatening schemes.  “If I had to tell you what keeps me up at night, it’s not necessarily the garden variety ransomware,” said Omid Rahmani, an associate director for U.S. public finance at Fitch Ratings “It’s the advanced, nation-state, havoc-based attacks. These

Pennsylvania became the final state in the country to pass its 2024-2025 budget last week, as the commonwealth’s divided legislature wrapped up its $47.6 billion spending plan two weeks past its July 1 deadline, with several new initiatives.  The budget spends big on economic development and education, but provides only one-time funding for transit. And

An Oklahoma court has canceled an election next month on a proposition to create two tax increment financing districts in Norman to help finance a University of Oklahoma sports arena as part of a $1 billion proposed entertainment development. Cleveland County District Court Judge Jeff Virgin issued a temporary restraining order last week enjoining the