Bonds

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority approved a $2.72 billion fiscal year 2024 budget that features $174 million in new spending amid declining revenues and expectations of a budget shortfall. The MBTA executive board voted unanimously on Thursday to approve the plan and a 7% bump in year-over-year spending amid predictions for a 10% dip in

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar, outperforming a weaker U.S. Treasury market for another session. Equities ended up. Triple-A yields were mostly flat while UST yields rose up to nine basis points on the front end, pushing muni to UST ratios there lower. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Friday was at

A lawyer for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders argued Thursday that if a receiver had been in place early on in the PREPA bankruptcy process, they would have controlled him or her and therefore raised rates to repay bonds in full. Assured Guaranty Attorney Mark Ellenberg argued that to be the case in

Changes to Illinois state pension benefits that may be needed to comply with federal Social Security rules carry an estimated $5.6 billion tab through 2045, according to an actuarial study published this week. State employees hired after 2010 get lower pension benefits than those hired before. Pension experts have long warned the Tier 2 benefits

Deploying greater use of bond financing to cure the county’s affordable housing shortage is getting a fresh look in the Senate via the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act. The bill, which was introduced Tuesday, is cosponsored by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. and Bill Cassidy, R-La. The legislation takes aim at expanding the use of mortgage

Preston Hollow Community Capital and Nuveen expect to close next month on a deal giving Nuveen a stake in its smaller rival in the high-yield muni space. The investment featured prominently in a settlement ending PHCC’s four-year-old legal pursuit of Nuveen for using what one judge labeled as “lies” and “threats” to damage its access

The North Carolina Local Government Commission gave approval Tuesday for Wilmington officials to sell $70 million of bonds to buy a 12-story downtown building as it consolidates city agencies into one place. Most bond sales in the state must be approved by the commission, which is chaired by State Treasurer Dale Folwell and reviews if

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders say they are owed $8.5 billion and the timeframe of being able to collect on their claim should continue in perpetuity. That was a central point of contention during Tuesday’s PREPA bond claim estimation hearing during which lawyers for the bondholders and the Oversight Board argued about what the

Connecticut lawmakers approved a $51.1 billion budget that cuts personal income-tax rates for the first time in almost 30 years, while increasing spending on education and housing. “We are delivering the largest cut to Connecticut’s income tax rates in state history,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a press release Tuesday. The tax cut will benefit

House Republicans on Tuesday sharply criticized responses from the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury, taking the agencies to task for rate hikes that they said damaged the municipal and other markets, thwarted transparency, and cracked the banking system.     The comments came during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. The discussions included

The recent failures of regional banks is emboldening Washington’s administrative state to double down on regulation. Regulators across the city are rushing to write new rules to further inject Washington’s central planners into the functioning of our capital markets.  The American Securities Association, which I run, recently sent a letter to the Washington bureaucracy with

The New York City Housing Development Corp. is coming to market this month with $891.75 million of bonds to help back construction of much-needed new housing projects in the city. The NYC HDC plans to issue $641.75 million of Series 2023A-1, 2023A-2 and 2022G multi-family housing revenue bonds not subject to the alternative minimum tax

Small manufacturers and farmers would win expanded access to tax-exempt private activity bonds under a bipartisan bill introduced in the House last Thursday. The Modernizing Manufacturing and Agricultural Bonds Act, introduced by Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., would triple the amount of industrial development bonds – also known as industrial revenue bonds – that can be

The Austin City Council on Thursday approved an $88 million settlement with an airport terminal operator that will allow a largely bond-financed expansion and development program at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to move forward with a midfield concourse project.  The settlement paid with airport revenue will end litigation against the city by LoneStar Airport Holdings,

Reinvestment needs will top new-issue supply by about $30 billion from June to August, which should boost the asset class after May’s atypical losses. Reinvestments, which includes maturities, called bonds and coupons, total over $114 billion over the next four months, according to ICE Data. While June often begins softer as investors assess how new-issue

AES Puerto Rico, a firm that supplies about 21% of the electricity transmitted by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, defaulted Thursday, missing an $18 million interest and principal payment on outstanding municipals it priced through a conduit in 2000. In a notice to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA site on Friday, AES Puerto

Struggling with declining enrollment, Oregon’s Portland State University had its outlook revised to negative by Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $193 million of outstanding debt. Enrollment declined by more than 20% over the past six years, and expectations of continued declines over the next four years at the downtown Portland university were cited by Moody’s in

Municipals were slightly firmer Friday, outperforming a U.S. Treasury selloff after a hotter-than-expected jobs report. Equities rallied. Triple-A yields were firmer by up to four basis points while Treasuries were weaker by up to 15 on the short end. Short ratios fell as a result. The two-year muni-Treasury ratio Friday was at 66%, the three-year

Massachusetts state senators approved a $56 billion budget for the fiscal year 2024 last week, forwarding along for final debate a package that preserves many of the central features of Gov. Maura Healey’s landmark tax relief package. Senators followed in step with their counterparts in Massachusetts’ House in approving a package along the lines of

Two Missouri-based hospital operators, BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke’s Health System, are the latest to join the trend of large-system mergers. The two signed a letter of intent to form an integrated not-for-profit Missouri-based health system Wednesday. The systems will work to reach a definitive agreement “in the coming months” with a closing anticipated by the