Bonds

Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain set a Feb. 10 deadline for parties to arrive at the terms of a Puerto Rico central government debt deal. In a separate action, she rejected a motion for a court-appointed investigation of mediation participants engaging in insider trading of Puerto Rico bonds. Puerto Rico bankruptcy Judge Laura

Rates will stay low, issuance will soften to end the year but tick back up in 2021, and the municipal market still has room to grow in environmental, social, governance space relative to the global market. Those were the takeaways from an S&P Global Ratings-sponsored Live Market Survey at The Bond Buyer’s California Public Finance

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a shutdown of all non-essential businesses and forced many people to stay at home. Although conditions have eased, the pandemic is not over and restrictions remain in place. Given the uncertainty of the path forward and the unpredictable next steps, not to mention other factors, including an election, that make

South Carolina-owned utility Santee Cooper reported that its revenue and refunding bond deal was oversubscribed by more than five times. The $638.2 million of bonds priced Wednesday, drawing $3.5 billion in orders from investors. South Carolina-owned Santee Cooper saved $134 million on Wednesday’s refunding, in a deal that is part of the utility’s strategy to

Fitch Ratings cut the outlook to negative from stable Wednesday on Chicago’s BBB-minus general obligation bond rating. The action increases the risk that the city will be saddled with a second speculative-grade bond rating. Moody’s Investors Service cut the city to junk five years ago. Fitch Ratings assigned a negative outlook to Chicago bonds Wednesday.Bloomberg

Municipal bond buyers were treated to a cornucopia of new issues as deals from New York and California flooded into the marketplace on Wednesday. The municipal market was steady in the backdrop of a dip in U.S. Treasuries after rising slightly earlier in the day. The New York City Transitional Finance Authority came with a

New Puerto Rico Oversight Board member Justin Peterson said he expected the next fiscal plan for the island will include the payment of debt service and will define essential services. “I would simply highlight the dysfunctionality of the [board’s] approach to date, which has been to use the fiscal plan and the lack of progress

Michigan released Detroit’s public school system from active fiscal oversight, a reward for fiscal gains that followed the state’s 2016 bailout that brightensits future case for joining the ranks of municipal borrowers. The Detroit Financial Review Commission in a vote this week granted a waiver to Detroit Public Schools and Detroit Public Schools Community District,

The worst-case revenue scenario California prepared for amid the COVID-19 pandemic has not arrived, at least not yet, according to the state’s legislative analyst. Revenue receipts for the first quarter of the fiscal year came in $8.6 billion higher than anticipated when the state’s revised May budget was released, Gabriel Petek said Tuesday in an

President hopeful Joe Biden plans to invest $20 billion in rural broadband infrastructure. Bloomberg News The coronavirus pandemic could serve as a catalyst for broadband infrastructure as many people work from home to stop the spread of the illness. During The Bond Buyer’s California Public Finance Conference Wednesday afternoon, infrastructure experts said the effects of

Gilt-edged North Carolina continues its financing spree this month, bringing its third and largest infrastructure deal to investors looking for safety in high-grade bonds. The state will price $700 million of tax-exempt, limited obligation bonds by negotiation with BofA Securities as the book-runner on Thursday. The $73.5 million, 5.8-mile extension of the C.F. Harvey Parkway

No matter who wins the presidency on Nov. 3, at least some of the tax changes sought by the municipal bond industry are likely to be embedded into infrastructure legislation to kick-start the economy rather than tax legislation. Former Vice President Joe Biden would presumably support the public finance measures already outlined by House Democrats

Chicago, assembling a budget deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, can’t afford to dip deeply into its $900 million of reserves without jeopardizing its bond ratings and setting back efforts to structurally balance its books, the city’s chief financial officer warned aldermen. CFO Jennie Huang Bennett spoke to City Council members Monday as Mayor Lori

New York City offered its Transitional Finance Authority bonds to retail investors for a second day as new supply loaded with some big Texas and South Carolina issues headed into the marketplace. In secondary trading, municipals were mostly stronger Tuesday, with yields on the AAA scales dropping by as much as two basis points on

Long Island’s Suffolk County received authorization to tap a little-used Federal Reserve program for two upcoming note deals, but expects only one will offer better rates than competitive bidding, the county comptroller said. Suffolk Comptroller John M. Kennedy said the county, which is eligible to use the Fed’s Municipal Liquidity Facility, is filing an application

After entering 2020 with a $6 billion surplus, and working its way through several harrowing months, California is now in the hopeful phase, said Scott Wu, executive director of the California Infrastructure and Development Bank. “In some ways, the California story of 2020 resembles that of the rest of the country,” said Wu, a speaker

Tuesday’s economic data again suggested strength in some areas and weakness in others, as a read of consumer confidence slipped, while durable goods orders gained more than expected, manufacturing rose, the services sector also improved, and home prices climbed. The consumer confidence index dipped in October to 100.9 from 101.3 in September, ending a two-month

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board ordered the local government to stop implementing new laws that improve pension payments. Board Executive Director Natalie Jaresko sent the letter to Omar Marrero, executive director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, on Oct. 21. The board released the letter and press statement Monday. Puerto Rico

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to end its fiscal year 2020 with a surplus of about $6 million following heavy issuance in the municipal market. That is what new MSRB CEO Mark Kim said during The Bond Buyer’s California Public Finance Conference Tuesday. The surplus is due to elevated levels of primary issuance and

Record-breaking new issuance, a 31% surge in taxable volume and the ability of the municipal industry to rapidly adapt to a work-from-home environment shows the resiliency of the municipal bond market amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The future of public finance is strong, three heads of public finance said at The Bond Buyer’s California Public Finance

How effectively mass transit systems nationwide can serve riders coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a huge variable. One example of the fluid landscape is the multiple scenarios the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its parent, the state Department of Transportation, posed for 2021 through 2023. The primary drivers are the evolution of the

Sarah Wilson, senior director of responsible investing at Nuveen, called for increased transparency from issuers on climate change risks Monday during The Bond Buyer’s California Public Finance Conference. Investors and rating agencies are calling for increased transparency from state and local governments on how climate change will affect them now and in the future. During

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is the first municipal issuer to list on a foreign exchange as it attempts to reach new investors in Europe and beyond. The SFPUC listed its recent taxable green bond deal on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday after it sold more than $664 million of taxable green bonds

The Wisconsin Center District will sell $434 million of bonds this week to finance the expansion of Milwaukee’s convention center. Backers say the project will provide an economic jolt to counter the COVID-19 pandemic’s blows in the near term and help the facility better compete over the long term. A rendering depicting an elevated view

Municipal bond buyers will see a wide variety of issues come to market this week, with most of the major sectors represented, with special empasis on education, transportation and power deals. “It is a relatively high-grade week with a diverse basket of credits. Transportation and power are featured with deals from CTRMA and Santee Cooper,”

The financial and legal obstacles besetting a long-planned Maryland light rail system could hinder other large-scale transportation public-private partnership projects, analysts said. The Maryland Department of Transportation assumed many contracts from Purple Line Transit Partners this month after the private partner shut down construction of the 16-mile, 21-station light rail line. PLTP is involved in

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board asked the bankruptcy court for more time to conduct its central government debt negotiations. The board made the request Sunday in a filing to the United States District Court for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Attorney Martin Bienenstock said it would be premature to set a schedule for confirming a central

Suffering less financial damage from the COVID-19 pandemic than some tollway operators, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority goes to market Tuesday with about $333 million of tax-exempt revenue bonds and notes to expand its system. “COVID-19 negatively impacted 2020 transactions and revenue beginning in March, but a recovery commenced in May that has continued

The economic news was mixed again Monday, with home sales unexpectedly dipping, while two reads of manufacturing showed expansion continued, but one suggested a slower rate of growth. New single-family home sales fell 3.5% to a seasonally adjusted 959,000 annual rate from a downwardly revised 994,000, first reported as 1.011 million, the Commerce Department reported

Dallas Area Rapid Transit will pursue savings through an $870.6 million taxable refunding as it continues expanding its extensive rail and bus system. The deal is scheduled to price Thursday through negotiation with senior manager Loop Capital Markets, led by managing director Tilghman Naylor. Proceeds from the Series 2020D bonds will be used to refund