Category: Bonds

Municipal bond veteran Bruce Sorensen has moved to Florida where he will continue to work for Robert W. Baird & Co. and focus on charter school finance. Sorensen joins Baird’s Sarasota office, moving from Minneapolis, and continue to focus his work on charter school municipal finance, the firm said Monday. Sorensen joined Baird in 2019…

The Washington and Oregon governors and the premier of Canada’s British Columbia province have signed a pact joining with California Gov. Gavin Newsom in setting environmental mandates that encourage electric vehicle use, and pledging dollars to investing in EV infrastructure. Newsom, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier John Horgan…

Cook County, Illinois’ proposed $8.75 billion fiscal 2023 budget relies on rising sales taxes, a healthy fund balance, and federal COVID-19 pandemic relief to stay on fiscal track while funding social initiatives and ongoing supplemental pension contributions. The proposed spending plan, up 7.8% from fiscal 2022, includes a $1.97 billion general fund, a $237 million…

In the age of great resignation, demographic shifts, population loss, and retiring workforce, how is the muni industry planning to face the talent challenge and continue growth? Our panelists will examine some of the strategies they employ to attract and retain talent as well as how they continue to focus their efforts on having diverse…

Municipals were a touch weaker out long to close out the week while U.S. Treasuries posted losses and equities sold off after hotter-than-expected jobs data. Municipal to UST ratios again fell on the day’s moves. The three-year on Thursday was at 69%, the five-year was at 73%, the 10-year at 82% and the 30-year at…

The city of Trenton has found itself in hot water with the state of New Jersey once again. Following a brush with default in August that prompted a state response, a group of local legislators announced on Monday that New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection planned for a limited but “imminent” intervention of its troubled…

The panelists will share the status update on the preparations underway and the impact on local governments and infrastructure in the City and surrounding area. Takeaways include:   Regional infrastructure projects that will come online by 2028 Risk management considerations Infrastructure in place for the Olympics, and venues under construction Other projects expected to enhance…

As we approach a year since the infrastructure law passed, the discussion will center around the plans put in place to use the monies as well as what challenges and opportunities lie ahead. The discussion points will include: The rollout of IIJA   How easy/difficult has it been to receive the money from the government…

A school district in the Portland, Oregon, suburbs was downgraded two notches by Moody’s Investors Service. The issuer and general obligation unlimited tax bond ratings of the Sherwood School District, formally Washington, Clackamas and Yamhill Counties School District 88J, were cut to A3 from A1, with a negative outlook assigned. The downgrade affects $302.5 million…

Chief Economist Dr. Lindsey Piegza will look at the current state of the economy amid the ongoing pandemic and what it means going forward for overall growth, interest rates and monetary policy. She will cover macro-economic trends in consumer spending and investment, in addition to new monetary and fiscal policy initiatives and the potential economic…

The fate of a planned 16-million-square-foot Georgia factory for electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is in question after a judge denied validation of $15 billion in PILOT bonds planned to back its construction. The Georgia Economic Development Commission, along with the Joint Development Authority for Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties and Rivian, negotiated an agreement…

Municipal yields fell Tuesday by as much as 10 basis points out long while U.S. Treasuries were little changed and equities rallied. Triple-A yields fell four to 10 basis points across the curve amid robust secondary trading with high-grade names showing clear moves to lower yields. New York City priced $1.35 billion of exempt and…

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s $45.5 million budget for FY 2023, its first balanced budget in many years, includes $22.8 million for market transparency and technology, $5 million for market structure and data and $4.3 million for market regulation following the board’s implementation of its new fee model. The board had been operating at a…

The first green municipal bond was issued nearly a decade ago, but the public finance industry — and California in particular — have been working to take it to the next level. California’s Green Bond Market Development Committee plans to produce recommendations next year on both best practices for issuing green bonds and a method…

Baby bond programs aren’t a panacea for generational inequality, but remain a promising tool to chip away at such problems, experts said at an event this week in New York. Tuesday’s event at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, “Exploring Baby Bonds as a Tool to Improve Economic Security,” was organized in conjunction with…

Municipals were little changed Friday to close out a month that saw triple-A yields rise more than three-quarters of a point on the front end, $7.6 billion flow out of mutual funds and issuance fall by 43%. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended in the red after a month of central bank rate hikes,…

Citing sustained progress on pension funding and debt reduction, Moody’s Investors Service Friday lifted its rating outlook on New Jersey to positive from stable, while affirming its issuer and general obligation bond ratings at A2. “The positive outlook is supported by the likelihood the state will continue its current practices for managing reserves and long-term…

California water and wastewater issuers count among their challenges the recurrence of drought, fundamental modification to the usage rates and patterns of enterprise services post pandemic, and significant capital requirements from a regulatory and reinvestment perspective. Issuers and other sector experts will explore the unique risks facing water and wastewater agencies and how they are…

Cities and Counties have had to question long-term revenue forecasts that were based on fundamentals that may no longer be present in their post-COVID economies. This uncertainty is particularly unsettling as COVID relief funds are spent down. Issuers, their advisors, and sector professionals will discuss their view of these challenges amidst those of the broader…

SOLVE Advisors, Inc., a market data platform provider for fixed income securities, has acquired fintech company Lumesis. Lumesis’ products operations and teams will be integrated into SOLVE’s existing organization. Upon integration, the Lumesis DIVER product suite will provide additional municipal asset class workflow, analytics related to price transparency, and regulatory-related solutions to SOLVE’S Market Data…