Bonds

Major infrastructure improvements will aid the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s finances in the coming months and years, officials said. WAPA is under extreme financial pressure, according to board members, and its electric system revenue bonds were rated CC, before Fitch Ratings withdrew the rating in December. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved

The end is near for a 52-year public-private partnership that built a managed lanes toll road project in the Houston area, with the Texas Department of Transportation announcing Friday the state intends to take over the project’s operation in October. The move came after financing for the P3 termination was cleared Thursday by the Texas

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole Friday removed any uncertainty of a rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting, pushing U.S. Treasury yields lower on the short end, with municipals following suit, while stocks rallied on the news. “Powell has rung the bell for the start of the cutting cycle,” said Seema

The Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs is facing major changes in its makeup depending on the outcome of the election, especially if Chairman Sherrod Brown, D – Ohio,loses his race.    “The committee is filled with senior members, so I assume the likes of Sens. Jack Reed and Elizabeth Warren will push for

Municipals were little changed Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended down. This year’s summer technical picture has been stronger than 2023, said AllianceBernstein strategists. Total returns for June through August last year were –0.04%, with August wiping out June and July gains as UST yields “jumped” and muni yields moved higher, they

Municipal bond issuers in the Midwest sold a bit more debt in the first half of 2024 than they did a year earlier, but the region largely missed out on big gains in bond volume nationwide. Midwest bond sale volume rose to $34.377 billion from $33.78 billion, according to data from LSEG, a 1.8% increase.

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell’s much-anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium should offer clues about the Fed’s thinking ahead of its September meeting, but with limits. “Fed watchers will be parsing Powell’s comments for signs that a 50bp rate cut is on the table for September,” noted Lauren Saidel-Baker, an economist with ITR

The National Association of Bond Lawyers will award Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., the Bernard P. Friel Medal and David Cholst the Federick O. Kiel Distinguished Service Award for their individual contributions to NABL and to the industry over the last four decades. Those will be given out during NABL’s The Workshop 2024, held in Chicago

Although charter school bonds seem to naturally lend themselves to a social label, there are inherent risks to taking that step. “One of the biggest questions that often come up is, what are the qualification requirements of being a social bond?” said Ryan Callender, partner, Squire Patton Boggs. “Unfortunately, there’s really no one answer to

Colleges and universities face an estimated $750 billion to $950 billion in spending over the next decade for deferred maintenance, facility upgrades, and construction projects, with the growing backlog of capital needs posing “a significant credit risk” for the higher education sector, according to Moody’s Ratings.  The rating agency said underinvestment in capital assets has

Municipals were mixed in secondary trading, as $1.8 billion of GOs from New York City came to market in two series, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended up. Several Federal Open Market Committee members saw a case to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in July, according to minutes of the July

Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at an awards dinner at the close of The Bond Buyer’s INFRASTRUCTURE conference, which takes place September 17–18, 2024, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. Scroll through to meet the Class of 2024. Full bios of each honoree will be posted over the next few weeks, in advance of

Southeast municipal bond issuance bounced back in the first half of 2024, with dollar volume rising 42.4% from the first half of 2023. This followed a 29.9% decline in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022. The Southeast bond volume increase in first half of 2024 from the first half

The Bond Buyer announces its third annual class of inductees into its Hall of Fame of municipal finance, which recognizes and celebrates groundbreaking individuals who have left an indelible legacy on the muni community and the people and places it represents. The new class of groundbreaking Hall of Famers gives representation to a range of

Although some advisors today may foresee themselves never recommending crypto investments, the last thing they should want is to look like “a deer in headlights” should a client ask about digital assets. So said Don Friedman, president of the professional group Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, on the first day of Financial Planning’s INVEST:

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has announced the members of its fiscal year 2023 Compliance Advisory Group, the sixth consecutive year that members of the municipal market will be volunteering to provide compliance clarification and assistance for the board’s group. “The Compliance Advisory Group plays a critical role in providing MSRB staff with valuable insight

Pennsylvania is coming to market Tuesday with what’s considered the largest private activity bonds surface transportation allocation to date as part of a high-profile public private program to rebuild bridges across the commonwealth. The $1.88 billion of tax-exempt PABs will finance the first, and largest, phase of the Major Bridges P3 Initiative. The state is

A central valley California not-for-profit hospital had $218 million of revenue bonds downgraded to junk by Moody’s Investors Service after a really bad third quarter. Kaweah Delta Health Care District had its revenue bond rating downgraded to Ba1 from A3; and the district’s overall rating has been placed under review for downgrade, Moody’s said. The

Municipals were weaker on the short end Friday ahead of a smaller new-issue calendar made up largely of a Pennsylvania public-private partnership deal. U.S. Treasuries saw losses along the curve and equities ended the week in the red as markets digested more mixed economic data ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week

New York state is expected to issue three downstate casino licenses in the first half of 2023, with the facilities operating two years after, bringing a financial boon to the state and the winners. Already, the state has seen more than $500 million of revenue through early November from online gambling, which made its debut