Bonds

Columbus heads into the market this week with a $423 million deal riding tailwinds from a rebounding revenue picture and the resolution of a lawsuit tied to 2020 remote work income tax collections. The triple-A-rated city will take indications of interest on $98 million of taxable bonds in two series on Monday with pricing to

Utah’s top elected officials demanded on Thursday that S&P Global Ratings cease applying environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to the state through the use of what they called a politicized rating system based on indeterminate factors.  A letter to S&P signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, Treasurer Marlo Oaks, other state constitutional officeholders, legislative leaders,

There is value and incentive for states, localities and other governmental entities to create a public bank to localize their financial incentives for investment in their communities and provide low-cost financing for those communities. What is a public bank? It’s owned and controlled by a state, municipality or other governmental entity. There is one public

Nebraska is likely to use a public private partnership to finance completion of its expressway system now that the Legislature has passed a law authorizing transportation P3s. “The expressway system is the reason we introduced this bill,” said Amanda Callaway, legislative aide to state Sen. Lynne Walz, who sponsored LB 1016. The bill allows the

Proceeds from sales of about $1.3 billion in bonds would benefit cities and towns across Massachusetts under legislation Gov. Charlie Baker filed on Thursday. The bill, called the Future Opportunities for Resiliency, Workforce, and Revitalized Downtowns, or FORWARD, would authorize the use of $2.3 billion in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and

Municipals were steady to weaker in spots Friday ahead of a large new-issue calendar, while U.S. Treasuries were mixed and equities sold off upward of 2.5%. Investors will be greeted Monday with a big uptick in supply, with the new-issue calendar reaching $9.251 billion with $6.572 billion of negotiated deals and $2.679 billion of competitive

St. Louis County Council members signed off on $105 million of borrowing to cover the county’s share of a convention center expansion despite growing concerns about the project’s cost. The city issued $105 million in late 2020 to cover its share of the public tab but the county’s financing had long been in a holding

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of two lower courts that had declared Puerto Ricans eligible for federal Supplemental Security Income benefits. The Supreme Court released its 8-1 decision in the United States v. Vaello Madero case on Thursday. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the a dissent. The SSI program provides financial assistance to disabled

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board intends to discuss the preliminary themes in the comments it received as part of its request for information on environmental social and governance factors, in its first meeting since the comment period closed in March. The board will discuss that along with the efforts to update trade reporting rules in

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives voted to end the commonwealth’s contract with LUMA Energy — under which it handles the electrical transmission and distribution grid — in the aftermath of a several-day long blackout. The House voted 29-16 with one abstention for the measure Tuesday. Members of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party provided the

The Internal Revenue Service has closed its audit of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s Series 2013B bonds with no change to the tax-exempt status of the securities. The bonds in question were part of an issuance of $379.6 million of senior airport revenue bonds, divided up between a Series 2013A of $107.3 million

Municipals sold off Tuesday, with triple-A benchmarks seeing cuts up to 11 basis points and the 30-year topping 3% on some scales. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, experiencing double-digit cuts on the short end, and equities rallied. Triple-A muni yields rose nine to 11 basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose 10 to

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti emphasized climate change, infrastructure and the homelessness crisis in his final State of the City speech as he foreshadowed the 2022-23 budget he releases this week. His choice of venue for his speech Thursday, the nearly complete Sixth Street Viaduct replacement project, underscored the infrastructure theme. Garcetti said he plans

Jerome Powell wants to put the Federal Reserve at “the forefront of technological changes” in the financial sector. The central bank is beefing up its tech acumen to get there. Calling it imperative to “evolve with the rest of the financial system,” the Fed chair said during an event hosted by the Bank for International

Merger and acquisition activity among not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals dropped off in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to Kaufman Hall. The 12 announced transactions in the first quarter marked the lowest since 2016 when Kaufman Hall began tracking the activity, according to the Quarterly Mergers and Acquisitions Report the

While lawmakers in California and other states are still debating the merits of cutting gas taxes amid soaring prices spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine several East Coast states have already implemented gas tax holidays prompting ratings analysts to weigh in. Moody’s Investors Service analysts said in a report Wednesday that the tax “holidays” are

New York State’s $220 billion fiscal 2023 budget focuses on environmental, social and governance issues while remaining in balance. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the budget, approved by the Legislature on April 8, balances social goals with fiscal responsibility. The budget raises the state’s reserves to a record high 15% of state operating funds spending by

Rising interest rates, inflation and geopolitics have put pressures on the municipal market since the start of 2022. These challenges come as the world also is still managing the COVID-19 pandemic’s lingering effects. The Federal Reserve is beginning to raise interest rates, in the midst of inflation concerns and supply chain issues, putting pressure on

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked even greater uncertainty amid markets jolted by the pandemic and expected interest rate hikes. Wealth managers now face fresh questions on how to navigate rapidly shifting equity and bond markets and the fallout on retirement portfolios. Points we’ll discuss: • The hit to the overall global and U.S. economies

As the West isolates Russia with sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine, policymakers are using the global financial system as a weapon to help stop the war. What will the impact be on banks? How is the federal government thinking about policy options to force Russia to end the war? What financial tools