Bonds

Evidence shows that the states are collecting and spending more money due to federal action and a tax collection boon, a trend that started two years ago. “Over the past two years total state spending has been heavily impacted by federal COVID-19 aid and rising state tax collections,” said Brian Sigritz, director of State Fiscal

Despite the impact from Hurricane Ian in Florida, the state’s labor force increased by 36,000 in October with Florida’s private sector adding 35,000 of those jobs. This was the 30th straight month that jobs were created in Florida, while private-sector job growth has exceeded the national pace for the past 19 months, the Department of

The Port of Los Angeles in conjunction with the Port of Long Beach may have lost its ranking as the busiest port in the U.S. over the past few months, but that hasn’t hurt its ratings. S&P Global raised the port’s revenue bond rating to AA-plus from AA on Nov. 4, citing strong finances and

Municipals improved again Thursday pushing the 10-year triple-A yield firmly below 3% while inflows into municipal bond mutual funds returned after 14 consecutive weeks of outflows. U.S. Treasuries saw losses and equities ended down after Federal Reserve officials tempered expectations of a slowdown in rate hikes. Triple-A yields fell by three to six basis points,

Inflation, rising interest rates and increasing construction costs are weighing on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Some projects that were budgeted and started at the beginning of the inflation spiral are now in jeopardy. While the IIJA provides billions of grant dollars, municipal experts say hurdles remain for state and local

Municipals rallied across the yield curve Wednesday, outperforming U.S. Treasuries and seeing the greatest gains out long after stronger retail sales data signaled the Fed’s tightening is not yet over, pushing equities into the red. Retail sales increased 1.3% in October, slightly above the consensus forecast of 1.0% and a significant improvement from the flat

As environmental, social, and governance continues to dominate many discussions of bond issuance and marketing the people on the front lines are constantly testing the limits of the label and contemplating how and if it dovetails with their needs. The topic was explored in depth by a group of experts during a Tuesday panel at

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority fuel line lenders said they have a document to stop the Oversight Board from getting its proposed restructuring approved. The document, the board’s agreement with former PREPA fuel provider Vitol for its support of the restructuring, will make it very difficult for the judge to accept Vitol as a

New York City’s municipal workers have been leaving their jobs at a faster rate than they can be replaced, according to a report released by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. This staffing shortage could have widespread economic and social implications as it impacts on important city services and programs, the report released Monday shows. Over the

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission heads into the market Tuesday with a $489 million new money deal with a new AAA rating attached to the third-lien paper. The commission will take competitive bids on the offering of third-lien state road bonds. PFM Financial Advisors LLC is advising. Gilmore & Bell PC and Bushyhead LLC

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said “we’ve still got a ways to go” before the central bank stops raising interest rates, despite good news last week on consumer prices. While officials could moderate the size of their rate hikes to 50 basis points at their next meeting or the one after that — after a

Chester, Pennsylvania, has filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The petition was filed Thursday in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In its Chapter 9 filing, the city’s receiver listed estimated liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million with assets of between $10 million and $50 million. The city has

Chicago could win an upgrade into the single-A category if its new pension funding policy remains on track, S&P Global Ratings said in shifting the city’s general obligation outlook to positive from stable. S&P revised the outlook on the city’s BBB-plus general obligation rating Thursday, the same day Kroll Bond Rating Agency lifted the outlook

Most members of the House Municipal Finance Caucus appear to have won re-election in Tuesday’s tight midterm elections, while key advocates of state and local tax reform will be exiting the stage next year. As results continued to trickle in Friday, Republicans were on track to gain a narrow majority in the House and Democrats

Arizona’s water financing agency should think big when it comes to the state’s hunt for new water supplies amid a persistent drought. That was the message from board members of the relaunched Water Infrastructure Finance Authority at its inaugural meeting Thursday. State lawmakers passed legislation in June making WIFA, which dates back to 1989 and

Amarillo, Texas, will appeal a state judge’s ruling rejecting the city’s plan to issue $260 million of tax anticipation notes for a civic center project.  Mayor Ginger Nelson said the move was needed to clarify conflicts between the ruling and current Texas law, particularly when it comes to debt issuance. The city filed a notice

Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook on Miami-Dade County, Florida’s A-rated senior lien seaport revenue bonds issued for PortMiami to stable from negative. Thursday’s action affects $800.3 million of Series 2021A-1, 2021A-2, and 2021A-3 senior lien seaport revenue bonds the county issued on behalf of its seaport department. Fitch said the outlook revision “reflects the

Municipals rallied hard Thursday with the greatest gains seen out long after a lower-than-expected consumer price index report showed inflation is cooling, boosting all markets. U.S. Treasuries rallied out of the gates seeing yields close the session up to 31 basis points lower on the short end of the curve, while equities made massive gains,

Democrats Erick Russell and James Diossa won open-seat campaigns for the state treasurer’s offices in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Russell will replace Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, who didn’t seek re-election, and Diossa will replace Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, who ran for and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Russell,

Municipals were firmer 10 years and in Wednesday while another week of mutual fund outflows clocked in at $3.8 billion. U.S. Treasuries closed out the session better while equities sold off on weaker earnings. The focus shifted from midterm election results to Thursday’s monthly consumer price index report. “U.S. stocks declined as the midterm election