A Puerto Rico court rejected a motion from several bond underwriters to dismiss a bond insurer suit against them for misrepresentations in their Official Statements. Senior Judge Ladi Buono de Jesús issued the decision Wednesday from her position in the Court of First Instance in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bond insurers National Public Finance Guarantee
Bonds
Subway safety in New York took on a new meaning when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority acknowledged a cyber intrusion, which set off loud alarm bells about the rising threat of system hacks. The MTA is one of the largest municipal issuers and reports linked China’s government to the episode. Despite MTA officials’ assurances of quick
The California state treasurer wants Congress to triple the federal cap on tax-exempt private activity bonds that are used for high-speed rail projects and other surface transportation to $45 billion. California Treasurer Fiona Ma emphasized in a letter Monday to key House and Senate Democrats and Republicans the importance of including private investment in the
Investment manager MFS has launched a new intermediate tax-exempt fund aimed at giving clients more yield and duration opportunities. The new Municipal Intermediate Fund, which pursues total return with an emphasis on income exempt from federal income tax, aims to outperform the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal 1‐15 Year Index, the firm said. Periodic review of its
A $5.3 billion transportation bill awaiting Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’s signature will not require voter approval after Republican demands for a referendum were thwarted. Senate Bill 21-260, which won final passage in the state House of Representatives last month, provides $5.3 billion over a decade for highways, bridges and infrastructure for future electric vehicles. The
Munis were quiet Monday along with U.S. Treasuries as participants await the larger new-issue week that begins pricing Tuesday led by competitive deals from gilt-edged Georgia and the state of Wisconsin. Flat with little activity is how municipals started the week as ratios continued to be close to or at historic levels due to the
A proposed mandate to shutter the $5 billion Prairie State coal energy campus and a Springfield, Illinois’ plant by 2035 would hit local ratepayers with the double burden of funding new energy sources while still paying down project bonds, a bipartisan group of local lawmakers warn. Gov. J.B. Pritzker backs a state mandate to shut
President Biden said Monday his Justice Department will defend current law that denies Supplemental Security Income benefits to Puerto Rico residents but he called on congress to amend the Social Security Act to extend those benefits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled in April 2020 that the prevailing federal practice of