Bonds

Illinois’ rosier near-term fiscal landscape and state bond rating momentum helped lift the ratings of public transit agencies and the state’s public universities and more than $5 billion of rated debt.   Earlier this month, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority’s $1.7 billion of general obligation bonds to Aa3 from A1 due

A reversal of U.S. Treasuries added more selling pressure on municipals Friday with another day of cheaper trading in the secondary leading to cuts in triple-A scales after a week of underperformance to taxables that pushed ratios firmly above 100% out long. Municipal triple-A benchmark yields rose up to five basis points in another rough

California Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out an $18 billion inflation-relief package during his May budget revision that included $400 rebates to car owners as well as expanded rental assistance and help covering past-due utility bills. The state budget boasts a $97.5 billion surplus, according to the governor’s estimates, but lawmakers also face spending restrictions from

Municipals were mixed Thursday as the last of largest new-issues priced in the primary led by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, while U.S. Treasuries caught a risk-on trade and equities rebounded near the close after larger losses earlier in the session in another volatile day. Triple-A benchmark yields rose up to

Illinois-based Advocate Aurora Health and North Carolina-based Atrium Health plan to merge, which would create the fifth largest not-for-profit health system by revenues nationally. The hospital chains would create a joint operating system under the name Advocate Health that would operate 67 hospitals across Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama with combined

S&P Global Ratings lifted the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority out from junk territory, upgrading the authority to BBB-minus from BB-plus. The hotel taxes that repay its Soldier Field bonds are on the mend and the agency is no longer putting efforts to spare Chicago’s city government from covering gaps between its tax revenue and debt

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority pulled in 4.5% more revenues in the first half of its fiscal year compared to its projections while expenditures also increased. PRASA’s larger-than-expected revenues were $24.2 million higher than the projection for July 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2021, the first half of its fiscal 2022 year, while

Municipal triple-A yield curves were steady Tuesday while the focus was on the primary, which kicked into gear with several large new issues out of New York, Oregon and Wisconsin pricing. U.S. Treasuries ended a bit better while munis were little changed on the day and the moves pushed muni to UST ratios higher. Ratios

The implementation process for a Texas law aimed at financial company “boycotts” of the fossil fuel industry led a state municipal bond issuer to drop three underwriters from a recent deal. Meanwhile, another big energy producing state, Oklahoma, enacted a similar law this week. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs removed Barclays, RBC

The Federal Reserve warned of deteriorating liquidity conditions across key financial markets amid rising risks from the war in Ukraine, monetary tightening and high inflation in a semi-annual report published Monday. “According to some measures, market liquidity has declined since late 2021 in the markets for recently-issued U.S. cash Treasury securities and for equity index

The Port of Los Angeles notched its second busiest April in its history even as COVID-19 lockdowns continued in parts of China. The lockdowns that went into effect six weeks ago have not resulted in a dramatic change in the number of vessels or cargo leaving China, POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka said Friday during

A coalition of former transportation officials, advocates and union leaders wrote a letter to California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins urging them to release voter-approved bond funds to move the state’s high-speed rail project forward. The letter is the latest in the skirmish over California’s embattled high-speed rail project,

A drumbeat of criticism is building over a proposed global tax regime that may hurt demand for tax-exempt debt and other U.S. tax credits. What’s not clear is whether Treasury is hearing it. At issue is implementation of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s new minimum global corporate tax rate of 15%, a deal

Municipals were weaker amid more selling pressure to close out the week, U.S. Treasury yields rose with the 10-year sitting firmly above 3% and equities ended in the red. Triple-A muni benchmarks were cut up to four basis points while UST yields rose five to 10 basis points five years and out. Muni to UST

S&P Global Ratings raised Illinois’ ratings by one notch Friday. The action completes a round of upgrades that rewarded the state for progress in tackling chronic strains that were made worse by a two-year budget impasse that dragged the state’s ratings to the edge of junk. S&P lifted the general obligation rating to BBB-plus from

The Texas Natural Gas Securitization Finance Corporation on Friday picked Jefferies to lead a team of underwriters for its upcoming $3.4 billion bond issue for utilities that were hit with high costs during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri. A few members of that team — Morgan Stanley, one of the deal’s co-senior managers, along with co-managers

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot chose Bally’s Corporation from the three short-listed candidates to hold the city’s first casino license, with the promise of a $40 million upfront payment and then a $200 million annual tax jackpot. The selection of the Bally’s $1.7 billion casino and resort development proposal marks a milestone in the city’s decades-long

Wisconsin Capital Finance Director David Erdman will retire in July after a 32-year career with the state, the last seven in the role of debt manager during which the state won upgrades and his stature as an advocate for the issuer community grew. Erdman plans to leave the state July 2 and on July 5

The U.S. Virgin Islands’ recent bond refinancing will help it avert financial catastrophe for the short term but it is not necessarily a longer-term fix, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The U.S. Virgin Islands’ government refinanced nearly $1 billion of its matching fund bonds in late March by creating a Matching Fund Special Purpose Securitization

Municipals were mixed as participants mostly sat on sidelines while U.S. Treasuries rallied on the short end after the Fed hiked rates a half-percentage point. Equities rallied to close the day. The 50 basis point rate hike is the steepest increase since 2000 and follows the 25 basis point rate hike in March. The bond