Bonds

Massachusetts transportation officials have spent nearly six years trying to thread a needle and now time is running short. “The time has come to make a decision, not study alternatives in perpetuity,” state transportation Commissioner Stephanie Pollack said of the Allston Multimodal Project at the June 22 joint meeting of the Department of Transportation and

Thursday’s employment report exceeded expectations, as jobs were added and the unemployment rate fell for the second month in a row. This news shows improvements in the labor market reflected in the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it. The

The chair of the Senate’s powerful Finance Committee said he is open to discussing more flexibility for how states and localities access federal aid, though he is skeptical that issuers actually need the aid they are asking for. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R- Iowa, made those comments Wednesday on the Senate floor, casting doubt on the

Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain rejected three related claims of bondholder liens on broad categories of commonwealth revenues, likely resulting in nearly $7 billion of outstanding debt paying pennies on the dollar. This also could result in a knock-on effect for other bond types of Puerto Rican debt. The judge’s decision is also

The public agency that manages St. Louis public transit hits the market as soon as Tuesday with a refunding to ease near-term COVID-19-induced revenue strains. The Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan Bi-State Development Agency is selling $171 million of combined lien mass transit sales tax appropriation refunding bonds including $13 million of tax-exempts and $158 million of taxables.

When market participants return to work after the long holiday weekend, they will see a chunky slate of supply waiting for them as issuers take advantage of low rates and a stable marketplace. Offerings from issuers in California, Oregon and Washington state top the calendar. IHS Ipreo estimates weekly volume at $7.38 billion, consisting of

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s decision to issue $1.1 billion in taxable notes this week underscores multi-year revenue challenges confronting the bi-state agency. Citi priced the three-year notes in a negotiated deal Tuesday. The Port Authority plans to use proceeds to pay debt service on outstanding consolidated bonds. The notes, which

Among the observers concerned over the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act and the Oversight Board it created, a few advocate changing the law, and some even want it abolished. However, most participants noted that because of the current climate in Washington, in an election year, any alterations to PROMESA are highly unlikely

The House is poised to pass along party lines a major infrastructure package which includes a new series of taxable direct-pay bonds and a restoration of tax-exempt advance refunding, though the partisanship of that process may make it difficult to forge an infrastructure bill in the Senate. The expected passage late Wednesday comes as Sens.

A recent audit by a California agency raised questions about a San Diego-area school district’s decision to choose a rating agency with criteria likely to result in a higher rating for a general obligation bond sale. The full Fiscal Crisis Management Team audit released June 22 reported “significant evidence” of malfeasance by current and former

Although the municipal market was mostly in holiday mode on Wednesday, the arrival of significant July 1 coupons and redemption payments brought with it an increased need for municipal paper and continued focus on the primary market with taxables leading the way. Yields were steady on AAA benchmarks and few deals priced, including a $1.1

Federal Open Market Committee participants want more information on yield curve control, how it would work and what it would mean for the economy, according to minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting. “All participants agreed that it would be useful for the staff to conduct further analysis of the design and implementation

Preston Hollow Capital LLC is aiming to parlay one court’s conclusions that Nuveen Investments used “threats and lies” to undercut its business into a defamation ruling in another court. PHC’s original case accusing Nuveen of defamation, antitrust and unlawful business interference ended with an April opinion from the Delaware Chancery Court finding that Nuveen had

Puerto Rico Oversight Board Chairman José Carrión and Board Member Carlos García gave notice of their resignations on Thursday. The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act specified they would have three-year terms. President Barack Obama named the members to the board in August 2016. Puerto Rico Oversight Board Chairman José Carrión, left, gave

Reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped $9 billion of wealth from New York City’s coffers, the mayor and the city council agreed on a budget that few really like or think will solve all the city’s long-term needs. In the early morning hours of July 1, the City Council passed the

A Florida court has denied the state government’s latest attempt to eliminate the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, but the legal battle over the future of the toll-road agency is far from over. Florida’s First District Court of Appeal issued a June 25 decision denying the state legislature a writ of prohibition to strike down a 2019

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council leaders agreed Tuesday on an $88.1 billion budget within hours of the fiscal 2021 deadline. The 51-member council was to vote in the evening on the spending plan. “It’s been a challenging but very productive process,” the mayor told reporters. De Blasio said the plan closes

The first of three stories marking the anniversary of PROMESA Four years after passage of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, many observers say the Oversight Board it created has not accomplished its stated goals and doesn’t have enough power to fix the island’s woes as it continues to struggle. The local

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board approved a new fiscal plan for the island’s Highways and Transportation Authority that was more pessimistic about debt service than the one it replaced. The board approved the HTA plan along with ones for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority on Monday. The

Nassau County’s longtime fiscal control board is preparing to sell a possible debt restructuring, which, if executed, would extend its oversight powers for the foreseeable future. While County Executive Laura Curran would decide whether to embark on the refinancing, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority has tapped Golman Sachs as senior manager for a potential deal.

Municipals finished little changed in quiet trading Tuesday as the first half of 2020 and the second quarter of the year came to an end. The secondary was lethargic as investors chased the new deals in an active primary. Tuesday saw billion-plus deals out of Massachusetts and the County of Los Angeles. At the halfway

Michigan will cut local government and education funding, lay off employees and dip into reserves to plug a $2.2 billion COVID-19-driven hole in the current budget, under a plan announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative leaders. The state will draw $350 million from its $1.2 billion reserve. Another $490 million will be reimbursed, with

Two Federal Reserve presidents said the central bank is committed to fighting racism as an economic issue, following increased disparity in U.S. labor market fortunes this year amid the coronavirus-induced recession. “I think you have seen a pretty significant change in terms of the voice of the Fed in the last six to eight months,”

Delaware Gov. John Carney has signed a $703 million capital bond bill for the 2021 fiscal year that was scaled back because of revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Carney endorsed the borrowing measure Tuesday afternoon during his COVID-19 media briefing one day after receiving the necessary legislative approval before the start of the new

The net liabilities of Chicago’s four employee pension funds went up in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic, not reflected in the funds’ recently released valuation reports, only threatens to make things worse. The frail funds won’t see any potential investment and demographic pains — which could pressure funded ratios and city contribution levels — from the

The Federal Reserve is reviewing credit standards of its municipal short-term lending program, particularly for territories that are currently locked out of the program. That’s what Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during a House Financial Services Committee hearing Tuesday. Currently, eligible issuers in its Municipal Liquidity Facility program must have an investment grade rating of

Although minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting should yield no surprises, the market will focus on conversations about yield curve control, which Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged did occur. And while the talks were reportedly prelimininary, and no one expects implementation before its September meeting, “The markets are increasingly pricing in a

A bipartisan bill included in House Democrats’ larger infrastructure package would expand the use of tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance small to mid-sized manufacturing and agricultural sectors. The bill, introduced in December by Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D- Fla., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., is included in a $1.5 trillion dollar infrastructure bill set for a

The California Infrastructure and Economic Bank approved a five-month extension for plans to price $3.25 billion in private activity bonds for a high speed train to Las Vegas. DesertXPress Enterprises, whose parent company is Virgin Trains USA Inc., asked the IBank for the extension citing market turmoil caused by the pandemic, according to a staff

This week’s slate of over $7.2 billion is hefty for a holiday-shortened week and as the market drives slowly into quarter end, tax-exempts will ride in the back seat for a change. It will be taxables at the wheel this week, according to Kim Olsan, senior vice president at FHN Financial. “In a rare circumstance,