Bonds

A Senate Finance Committee hearing led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, contemplated ways to smooth funding for rural hospitals as the number in the red has spiked in recent years. Rural hospitals and clinics across the U.S., including in Oregon, have been particularly hard hit by the challenges facing healthcare over the past several years.

States are casting around for solutions to a drop in gas tax revenues which includes hiked registration fees and the expansion of toll roads, which remains politically sensitive.  “Various projections from state DOTs, think tanks, and economists show that gas tax revenue, which is the largest source of revenue for state transportation trust funds, is

The Federal Reserve’s delay of interest-rate cuts in a bid to temper inflation runs the risk of falling behind the curve, according to Mohamed El-Erian. “The Fed pivoted on the basis of data. It was the opposite of the pivot that they did in December — now they have to do a U-turn,” El-Erian, the

The median audit time for all municipal bond sectors rose nearly 10.5% from 2011 to 2022, according to a new report from the University of Illinois-Chicago and Merritt Research Services.  The report also found a direct correlation between audit timeliness and credit rating for all governmental bond sectors and a majority of revenue bond sectors.

Municipal bonds saw a touch of weakness in spots as the last large issues of the week priced while municipal bond mutual fund flows show retail engaged and high-yield continuing to outperform the broader investment-grade market. U.S. Treasuries faced some pressure on a slew of economic data and Fed speak that gave participants pause on

Exchange-traded funds have seen inflows over the past several weeks as demand grows, showing improved retail investor sentiment and a better market environment overall. LSEG Lipper reported muni ETFs saw $91 million of inflows for the week ending Wednesday after $922 million of inflows the week ending May 8, while the Investment Company Institute reported

Fitch Ratings last week upgraded Milwaukee’s issuer default rating and general obligation rating to A-plus from BBB-plus. The outlook is stable.  Milwaukee benefited from Fitch’s new rating criteria, rolled out last month, which incorporate most of the credit factors that Fitch has considered historically but include additional analytical factors and now assign specific weightings to

Municipals were slightly firmer Wednesday as the New York City Transitional Finance Authority came to market with a $1.8 billion deal with small bumps from its retail offering and inflows into exchange-traded funds topped $1 billion. U.S. Treasuries and equities rallied following the consumer price index report that came in softer than expected. April’s CPI

Municipals were little changed in secondary trading Tuesday as a large new-issue calendar took focus in the primary, led by a $1.5 billion retail order from the New York City Transitional Finance Authority. U.S. Treasuries were firmer across the curve and equities were up near the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 64%,

The Turnpike Authority of Kentucky approved the sale of $128 million of revenue bonds, with the proceeds to be used to refund the authority’s Series 2010B Build America Bonds. TAK Treasurer Steve Starkweather said he expects the authority to price the bonds June 6 with an all-in true interest cost of 3.216%. They are to

Municipals were little changed Monday as the market awaits another heavy new-issue calendar and an upcoming inflation report. U.S. Treasuries were slightly firmer and equities were mixed near the close. While muni yields were steady Monday, yields fell last week, with 10-year notes falling seven basis points to end the week at 2.65%, said Jason

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board and Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority said the judge in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy case should reject objecting bond parties’ request to reopen the case to hear new evidence. The bond parties objecting to the proposed plan of adjustment said in late April projections

Municipals were a touch weaker in spots ahead of another robust new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities were up. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Friday was at 63%, the three-year at 62%, the five-year at 60%, the 10-year at 60% and the 30-year at 81%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m. EST

The Senate Thursday overwhelmingly passed a five-year Federal Aviation Administration authorization that features a 20% boost for major airport capital improvement projects. The bipartisan measure, which had been stalled by negotiations over an ultimately successful move to add additional flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, heads now to the House, which is expected to

The Virginia General Assembly is set to pass a new budget next week after a saga that saw the state’s Republican governor and the Democratically controlled legislature clash over environmental issues, school funding, and pay-fors.     Although the budget deal still needs to be officially approved during the special session that begins Monday, Gov. Glenn

Chicago’s iconic lakefront is also its portal to water supplies from Lake Michigan, serving not only the city but 120 of its suburbs. But Chicago’s top suburban customer and Illinois’ largest water wholesaler, the DuPage Water Commission, now says it plans to strike out on its own. The commission revealed this week that it has

The long-planned Kentucky-Ohio Brent Spence Bridge won environmental approval from the Biden administration Friday, a “major milestone” for the bistate project that’s been in planning for more than 10 years. “This is an important step forward in bringing efficiency to our nation’s supply chain,” said said Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. “The project will address one

Current strategies to deploy public and private capital toward a green energy transition are experiencing mixed success, amid conflicting trends as both global oil demand and clean energy deployment rates rise together, according to panelists at the Milken Institute’s Global conference this week in Beverly Hills. “As many folks know, we aren’t doing that well

Municipal Market Analytics said municipal bond impairments from January through April were the highest since they began tracking in 2009, with the charter school sector totaling most impairments. MMA recorded 63 impairments this calendar year, with 59 of them coming in January to April, according to Wednesday’s issue of Default Trends. The four-month total was

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has said for years that its congestion pricing plan is crucial to its budget. In a new debt profile report, the New York State comptroller backed the MTA up.  Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s report questioned the MTA’s delayed capital plans, expensive borrowing habits and climbing debt service costs — and