Bonds

The headwinds facing the University of Idaho’s plan to acquire the University of Phoenix got a lot stronger this week; as did obstacles toward issuing bonds to fund the $685 million purchase through U of I’s affiliated nonprofit, Four Three Education. On Tuesday, the state’s House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 26 in a

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bond trustee said the Oversight Board’s proposed plan of adjustment breaches the bonds’ trust agreement. “There is a fundamental clash between the duties of bondholders to each other in the trust agreement and the three bondholder [plan support agreements (PSAs)] in the plan,” said bond trustee U.S. Bank N.A.

New York City finance officials appeared before the City Council Monday to discuss the mayor’s fiscal 2025 preliminary budget. Testimony centered around the $109.4 billion preliminary budget that Mayor Eric Adams proposed in January, which is balanced as required by law, and includes a near-record $8.2 billion in reserves, including $1.2 billion in general reserve, $4.8 billion in the Retiree Health Benefits

The municipal primary kicked into swing Monday with New York City Municipal waters pricing for retail investors while the secondary was quiet in light trading leading to a steady tone, even as U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed near the close. In the primary market Monday, Siebert Williams Shank held a one-day retail

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. William W. “Bill” Fish, who spent his career working with municipal bonds, died on Feb. 18 at The Connecticut Hospice overlooking the Long Island Sound, which he loved. Mr. Fish was born on Nov. 12, 1944, in Brunswick, Maine. He attended Bowdoin

Congress is expected to begin voting next week on the first set of fiscal 2024 budget bills – five months into the fiscal year – after the parties reached another short-term deal to avert a government shutdown Friday. The two chambers on Thursday passed a stopgap bill that extends the deadline for four spending bills,

On Thursday the Internal Revenue Service provided updated guidance on how utility companies are allowed to use securitization to recover costs through rate increases to customers.   The new regulations are denoted by the IRS as Rev. Proc. 2024-15 which updates Rev. Proc. 2005-62. The ruling expands the definition of public utility companies to include publicly owned power

Hawaii lawmakers grilled the budget director Thursday as recovery costs for the Maui wildfire are coming in double expectations, putting the budget at risk. During a hearing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Budget Director Luis Salaveria was asked when Gov. Josh Green’s administration realized costs to temporarily house people displaced by the fire

Municipals were little changed to end the week ahead of an estimated $6.1 billion new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries were firmer, and equities ended up. Muni yields were steady throughout the week, ignoring small but “well-behaved” UST movements, which stayed “in a relatively narrow range despite some important data releases,” according to Barclays PLC strategists Mikhail

The Ohio state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that included $1.27 billion in bonds for state government agency facilities, K-12 classrooms, local subdivisions’ capital improvement projects and conservation projects. The bill, HB 27, was originally intended only to give students more information about college fees and loan repayment. And Senate Democrats voiced reservations about

After years of soliciting market feedback, new Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rule G-46 on the duties of solicitor municipal advisors is in effect as of March 1, setting the stage for closer scrutiny from both municipal advisors and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Solicitor municipal advisors are a much smaller crowd than traditional municipal advisors

Municipal bond mutual funds saw small inflows, the secondary market showed constructive trading with firmer prints in spots and the asset class is likely to see slightly positive returns for the month. Equities ended in the black, with the Nasdaq leading the rally. Triple-A yields were bumped a basis point or two, depending on the

The executive director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, which is undertaking a $5 billion, bond-financed expansion program, resigned Wednesday after the state attorney general issued an opinion regarding the legality of holding multiple governmental offices. The opinion served as the effective resignation of Tim Gatz, who has headed the OTA since 2016, according to a

Puerto Rico leaders and analysts highlighted fiscal risks facing Puerto Rico’s central government, including a change in how multinationals are taxed, that could, if unresolved, jeopardize future bond payments. At the Puerto Rico Oversight Board meeting Wednesday, board Executive Director Robert Mujica Jr. said the government faced major risks in the coming fiscal years, including

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Tuesday unveiled a $55.9 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2025 that would impose a new Corporate Transit Fee on the state’s largest and wealthiest corporations to create a “new, dedicated, and permanent funding stream” for NJ Transit. The fee, which would affect about 600 companies with net taxable income greater

Municipals were steady in secondary trading Tuesday as several large deals in the primary market took focus, including the retail pricing for the $1.5 billion-plus deal of general obligation bonds from New York City. U.S. Treasury yields rose 10 years and out and equities were mixed near the end of the trading session. Other large

When Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza this month launched a new online portal to track state spending on asylum seekers, state residents gained a window onto a major piece of the local government spending pie, with the city of Chicago and Cook County also spending millions on the migrant crisis. As of Feb. 27, the new

Municipals were steady to start the week as investors await the larger new-issue slate, outperforming U.S. Treasuries, while equities were mixed near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 58%, the three-year at 57%, the five-year at 56%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year at 81%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s

As New York City gets set to issue $1.2 billion of fiscal 2024 series C general obligation bonds, rating agencies affirmed the Big Apple’s $40 billion of outstanding GO debt. Proceeds will be used to fund capital projects; a $309.4 million reoffering will also be sold to convert outstanding floating-rate bonds to fixed-rate securities. Book-running

Miami International Airport received $27 million from the federal government for infrastructure projects designed to improve the passenger experience at one of the nation’s busiest airports. The funding was announced at a Thursday ceremony at MIA: Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava welcomed Polly Trottenberg, U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary, and Shannetta Griffin, the