Bonds

Houston Mayor John Whitmire took aim Thursday at city Controller Chris Hollins for soliciting sponsorships from municipal bond firms for an upcoming investor conference, saying it smacks of pay-to-play and calling for an investigation. The mayor said he received calls from bond underwriting firms about sponsorships for Tuesday’s event with price tags ranging from $10,000

The public private partnership that took over Puerto Rico toll roads out of the territory’s bankruptcy is gearing up to sell municipal debt for the enterprise. The Wisconsin-based Public Finance Authority will be pricing the $286.2 million in senior revenue bonds on behalf of Puerto Rico Tollroads, LLC. Barclays is an underwriter. Fitch Ratings rates

Broward County, Florida’s Tourism Development Tax, sales tax, and Professional Sports Facilities tax and revenue refunding bonds were upgraded by Moody’s Ratings, affecting about $628 million in bonds. Moody’s upgraded the county’s TDT revenue bonds, Series 2021 (Convention Center Expansion Project) to Aa2 from Aa3; sales tax bonds, Series 2020, to Aaa from Aa1; and

Hyman Grossman, former head of public finance at S&P and longtime industry veteran known for expanding S&P’s public finance analytics team from its early days into the giant it now is, as well as great friend, family man and mentor to many, has passed away at the age of 89. “He was an analyst covering

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of another robust new-issue week while U.S. Treasuries made some gains and equities closed in the black. “Strong September employment numbers and a somewhat higher CPI reading continued to reverberate through the bond market,” said BofA Global Research strategists Yingchen Li and Ian Rogow in a weekly report. “This,

Bloomberg News Where California goes, the nation follows, the saying goes, and it appears to be true when it comes to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. The nation’s largest public pension fund had $502.9 billion in assets under management at the end of fiscal 2024, it announced in a July news release. A preliminary

A stalwart municipal market veteran, devoted friend, and beloved husband and father, George C. Mulry III, a managing director in public finance marketing at Assured Guaranty, died on Oct. 9. He was 64 years old. Mulry is remembered for the lives he touched and his unimpeachable work ethic. He spent nearly 40 years in the

Moody’s Ratings on Tuesday put the Chicago Board of Education on notice that it will watch the school district’s next steps after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed a new school board. All seven previous board members resigned earlier this month. Moody’s said it will be monitoring whether and how those board changes factor into decisions

Municipals were firmer Wednesday as muni mutual funds saw inflows top $2 billion and Pennsylvania led the new-issue calendar with $1.6 million of general obligation bonds in three series. U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly and equities ended up. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 63%, the three-year at 62%, the five-year at 64%, the

Months after Minnesota’s second-largest healthcare employer was downgraded by two rating agencies, the Minnesota Nurses Association is taking aim at the management of Minneapolis-based Allina Health and arguing that Allina’s board should be composed of “largely bedside workers.” The union, which represents 22,000 nurses across Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Iowa, released a report on

Municipals were little changed Tuesday as investors await a surge of new issuance to hit the market Wednesday and Thursday. U.S. Treasuries rallied out long and equities ended down. Two weeks into the fourth quarter of the year, munis are posting negative returns in October, down 0.56%, bringing year-to-date returns down to 1.72%, said Jason

Houston dodged a blow to its fiscal 2025 budget when Texas officials Wednesday freed up state funds to help pay the city’s share of costs to remove debris created by two fierce storms this year. The situation underscored fiscal problems the nation’s fourth-largest city faces from natural disasters that could compound its growing structural budget

Muni advocates are gearing up for a contentious tax fight next year, particularly if Kamala Harris should prevail in the presidential election, as Congressional Republicans are already digging in with a nationwide tour preemptively attacking the tax policies of the current Vice President. On Tuesday, Rep. Jason Smith R- Mo., Chairman of the House Ways

Cook County, Illinois, officials released a $9.89 billion executive budget recommendation Thursday, after saying in a press briefing Wednesday that the nation’s second-most populous county will see no new taxes or layoffs. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said 56 open positions are being cut. The eliminated positions were ones the county anticipated filling with

The Equitable School Revolving Fund LLC., a first-of-its-kind loan pool for charter schools, will hit the market next week with $300 million of A-rated social bonds. The deal, set to price Wednesday, marks the sixth borrowing for the fund, said Equitable Facilities Fund CEO and founder Anand Kesavan. Its most recent deal came last November

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund remains in “very good position” after Hurricane Milton, according to the head of Florida’s Division of Bond Finance. But, Ben Watkins on Thursday noted that only modeled losses are available for Hurricane Helene, which hit in late September, and no figures have been advanced for Milton yet. The CAT fund

Investor demand for bond insurance remained strong during the first three quarters of 2024 as the amount of debt wrapped by bond insurance rose 26.8% year-over-year. Municipal bond insurers wrapped $28.921 billion in the first three quarters 2024, an increase from the $22.814 billion insured in the first three quarters of 2023, according to LSEG

James McIntire, who served two terms as Washington state treasurer, died in August. He was 71. The cause was an aggressive and rare form of prostate cancer, his wife, Christina Koons, told the Seattle Times. An economics student and later professor at the University of Washington, McIntire’s first step into government service was as a

After outperforming the larger weakness in U.S. Treasuries over the past week, municipals played some catch up Friday seeing pressure across the curve ahead of holiday-shortened, but still heavy supply week. Triple-A yields rose two to five basis points while Treasuries were stronger 10-years and in, to close out a week of more mixed economic

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Remembered for his positive and cheerful attitude and willingness to pitch in wherever needed, retired Bond Buyer reporter and municipal market fixture Harold “Chip” Walter George Barnett, Jr. died on Monday. He was 67. Barnett suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, “a disease related