Bonds

Miami-Dade County, Florida, was upgraded to AA-plus from AA by Fitch Ratings, which attributed the change to its new local government ratings criteria. The outlook is stable. Fitch cited the county’s “expected resilience to cyclical and noncyclical economic stressors due to its position as the primary anchor of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach [metropolitan statistical area],

Columbus, Ohio, recently embarked on a technological modernization push that employs artificial intelligence in its payroll, revenue and accounting and operations systems. Columbus Auditor Megan Kilgore said her office now uses AI for everything from reconciling differences between sets of data to visualizing city finances for the mayor or City Council members with almost real-time

Brightline train’s proposed extension to Tampa won a vote of confidence Friday from a coalition of planning and transportation organizations, two months after the sale of $925 million of high-yield municipal bonds to finance the planned extension. The Suncoast Transportation Planning Alliance and Central Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Alliance, which together represent 10 metropolitan planning

The start of a trial to determine whether bonds could be issued to finance a multi-billion-dollar light-rail project in Austin was halted Monday after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office filed an emergency motion with a state appeals court. A Travis County District Court judge planned to commence the trial before ruling on the attorney

Municipals were steady in secondary trading Tuesday as a heavy new-issue calendar took focus in the primary, led by an upsized $2.55 billion deal for the John F. Kennedy International Airport New Terminal One Project that saw yields bumped upon repricing. U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were up near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury

Federal regulations are putting the brakes on U.S. Department of Transportation funding designed to boost transit-oriented development projects near public transit.  “We need to make it easier to build in any way we can,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “Providing low interest capital through TIFIA and RRIF is one means, but for it to work

The Internal Revenue Service has settled with the Port of Port Arthur Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas regarding the tax-exempt status of a 2017 $55 million bond issuance.   The issuer disclosed the recent settlement on EMMA Monday, concluding the matter after it was first disclosed months ago. “As a result, there is no change

Municipals were firmer Tuesday amid a busy primary market with several large deals, as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended up. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 68%, the three-year at 69%, the five-year at 71%, the 10-year at 70% and the 30-year at 86%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m.

A surprise primary result means Puerto Rico will have a new governor next year. Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón upset Gov. Pedro Pierluisi in the race for the New Progressive Party nomination for governor. The New Progressive Party supports statehood for Puerto Rico. As resident commissioner González Colón represents, without being able to

St. John’s Lutheran Church sits three blocks from the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, in the heart of the up-and-coming East Washington corridor, where development is booming. Many of the developments cater to a well-heeled clientele, such as the Moxy Madison, a boutique Marriott hotel where weekend rates start at $341 a night. Or Archipelago Village,

With the municipal market’s prized tax exemption possibly in play next year as Congress tackles tax policy, the National Football League is getting into the game by lobbying to protect the financing tool for the controversial and niche stadium market. The use of tax-exempt bonds to build sports stadiums, which have been subject to several

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering delaying the congestion pricing plan to charge motorists driving into midtown Manhattan and potentially replacing it with a tax on New York City businesses, according to a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because the proposal hasn’t been made public. The tolling plan, set to begin

Kansas legislative leaders, who are seeking to coax the Kansas City Chiefs to leave neighboring Missouri, formally invited the National Football League team to join their effort to build a stadium with the help of bonds. In a letter to Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt that the Republican lawmakers released publicly Tuesday, they invited

The Federal Highway Administration is under immense pressure to respond to the backlog of requests it has on its emergency relief fund in addition to its specific action on rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge and implementing the goal of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country by the end of the decade. That

The nation’s public transit providers scored a revised Moody’s Ratings’ sector outlook to stable from negative Tuesday as operators adjust to post-pandemic norms and scramble to line up new funding sources. By March 2024, public transit ridership in the U.S. had rebounded to 79% of pre-pandemic levels, surpassing office occupancy rates and suggesting transit agencies

Municipals were firmer Wednesday amid another heavy new-issue calendar, led by several large deals that saw yields lowered upon repricing. U.S. Treasuries yields fell further and equities ended up. Issuance remains robust Wednesday with an estimated $5.9 billion, said J.P. Morgan strategists, led by Peter DeGroot. The negotiated calendar was led by $830 million from

The push to allow tax-exempt bonds for spaceport infrastructure received renewed attention last week at a House subcommittee roundtable on the U.S. space race with China. “If you’re asking a private company that launches rockets to space, if you’re asking them to build the spaceport, it’s like asking American Airlines to build the airport,” Jim

The U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature complained about the governor’s lack of consultation before he declared a state of emergency to pay off Water and Power Authority debts. The legislature gathered Tuesday to express its concerns about Gov. Albert Bryan’s Monday action, which used the emergency declaration to authorize spending the government’s rainy-day funds for WAPA

Municipals were slightly weaker in secondary trading Wednesday as the Los Angeles Unified School District’s nearly $3 billion pricing for institutions took focus. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended mixed. Munis started the second quarter in “excellent shape,” as credit spreads are in fair value range, and muni-UST ratios start to cheapen, said GW&K

The recent slew of prepaid energy bond issues in the Southeast continues to revive interest in the sector as demand remains strong for the tax-exempt paper. In a prepaid natural gas deal, public utilities secure a long-term supply of natural gas at a discounted rate. A conduit issuer, typically a special-purpose entity, sells these bonds.