Category: Bonds
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New water bill tweaks TIFIA
The latest Water Resources Development Act bill is named after outgoing Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Tom Carper, D-Del.Rachel Wisniewski/Bloomberg The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote this week on a sweeping water infrastructure bill that would send billions to flood-control and coastal resiliency projects and revamp a popular transportation loan…
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Kevin Bain joins Public Sector Consultants
Kevin Bain, formerly Detroit’s director of strategy, has joined Public Sector Consultants. Kevin Bain, formerly director of strategy for the city of Detroit, has joined Public Sector Consultants as a senior strategist for climate and project finance. The nonpartisan public policy consulting firm’s reputation and history of innovation in the green bank space drew him…
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Picking winners and losers in the budget battle
“A lot of the strategists and pundits who petitioned Senators and Congressmen on our behalf for the municipal market have their hair on fire, worried that the exemption is going to go away,” said Eric Kazatsky, head of Municipal Strategy for Bloomberg Intelligence. ”It’s not as easy as just saying with the stroke of the pen…
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St. Petersburg approves $333.5 million for Rays’ new stadium
The St. Petersburg, Florida, City Council approved bonds to help pay for a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.Bloomberg News The Tampa Bay Rays moved a step closer to a new stadium, as the St. Petersburg, Florida, City Council voted 4 to 3 Thursday to approve $333.5 million in bonds for that project and…
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University of Idaho’s acquisition plan delayed by high court ruling
University of Idaho President Scott Green has been a driving force behind plans to acquire the online University of Phoenix.University of Idaho The University of Idaho’s plans to acquire the online University of Phoenix for $685 million hit another speed bump: the state Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s support for the plan. The university…
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With $10B on tap, bond volume set to break record
<img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20664459/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Municipal bond yields fell Friday following U.S. Treasuries’ gains after improved jobs data affirmed the Federal Reserve’s expected December rate cut path, while equities were mixed ahead of the close. “Financial markets are now pricing in a cut at this month’s [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting and two more…
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California’s ESG fund takes aim at state’s wildfire scourge
Massive fires burning in northern California and Oregon in September blanketed San Francisco with smoke.Bloomberg News Wildfire resilience projects became the first beneficiary of California’s Climate Catalyst Revolving Fund — created as part of a larger package of ESG-related efforts by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019. The state’s Infrastructure and Economic Bank, charged with running…
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Focus on primary slate; Mutual fund inflows top $1B
<img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20648548/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Municipal bonds were little changed in secondary trading as the focus shifted to the primary market amid several large deals while municipal bond mutual fund inflows topped $1 billion. U.S. Treasuries were mixed and equities ended in the red. Lipper reported fund inflows of $1.154 billion for the week…
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Washtenaw County treasurer blazed a path for women in public finance
Longtime Washtenaw County, Michigan treasurer Catherine McClary, who died Dec. 2, was well-known in Midwest public finance circles for her activism and ability to pilot innovative policies later adopted by other counties.Washtenaw County, Mich. Longtime Washtenaw County, Michigan treasurer Catherine McClary was remembered this week as a trailblazer, role model and prominent voice for social…
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Market technicals supportive; Powell comments affirm December rate cut
<img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20627705/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Municipals were steady Wednesday as the market saw another heavy slate of new issuance and inflows continued into muni mutual funds. U.S. Treasuries made gains and equities broke more records. Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell in a televised interview Wednesday said “little to alter the market’s view that…
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Budget battle will key on bond market
”There has been a fairly persistent resistance to embrace fiscal sustainability,” said Jared Bernstein, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers at The White House. “The only way that changes is with a forcing event, and perhaps one of the few forces that could potentially discipline the Trump administration in this regard is the bond…
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Brightline wins Deal of the Year award
Brightline won The Bond Buyer’s 23rd annual Deal of the Year award for its $3.2 billion recapitalization that represents a transformative moment in U.S. infrastructure financing. As the largest private-activity bond issuance and first investment-grade debt for American high-speed rail, this transaction, which also won Deal of the Year in the Innovative Financing category, restructured…
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More conservative Texas Legislature tees up bills for 2025 session
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott touts a state-funded education savings account program at a parent empowerment day event at the state capitol in March 2023. After the program failed to pass that year, he vowed another push in 2025 and campaigned for pro-voucher legislative candidates.Texas Governor’s Office Texas is gearing up for its 2025 legislative session…
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Munis start December on a positive note
<img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20585986/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> Municipals were firmer to kick off December, as U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed late in the session. Muni yields were bumped one to four basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose up to five basis points on the short end, as of 3…
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The tangled tale of a troubled town’s water authority
The city of Chester, on the Pennsylvania side of the Commodore Barry bridge (shown). A battle over the Chester Water Authority continues to rage.AdobeStock The Chester Water Authority traces its origins back to 1868, when it was created as a private entity to provide water to Chester, Pennsylvania’s residents. The Chester Water Service Company, as…
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Scant muni action during lame duck
House Appropriations Chair Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said disaster aid may be included in a short-term government funding bill this year.Al Drago/Bloomberg News Lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill next week to wrap up the 118th Congress with must-pass government funding and national defense authorization bills and fresh disaster funds on tap. The lame-duck session ending…
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Transit lobby pushing Congress for $57.5 million in stalled funding
“Emergency relief funding is not just about repairing infrastructure, it’s about ensuring that transportation remains a critical support system for communities rebuilding after devastating natural disasters,” said Paul P. Skoutelas, APTA President and CEO. ”This funding is critical now more than ever, as climate-driven disasters increase in intensity and frequency. Congress must act swiftly to provide…
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Moody’s downgrades Manhattan, Kansas, over fiscal strain, late audit
Moody’s Ratings downgraded Manhattan, Kansas, bonds to A1 from Aa3 in the wake of a tardy audit and deteriorating finances. A tardy annual audit and deteriorating finances led Moody’s Ratings to downgrade the issuer and general obligation rating for Manhattan, Kansas, to A1 from Aa3 and warn the rating could be lowered further or even…
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Munis outperform amid solid demand ahead of hefty new-issue slate
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20548015/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; Municipals were lightly traded in a post-Thanksgiving holiday-shortened session, but the asset class held onto a firmer tone Friday following an improved U.S. Treasury market, ahead of what’s building up to be a sizable new-issue slate for the first week of the last month of 2024. Demand for paper…
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Washington, D.C., Council approves arena deal
“By modernizing this key venue, we will not only attract more events and visitors but also stimulate local businesses and create a vibrant atmosphere in the area,” said D.C.’s Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser. “Our agreement stipulates that at least 40% of contracts will be awarded to certified business enterprises, with an ambitious goal of reaching…