Bonds

The backers of a tax measure to shore up funding for ailing San Francisco regional transit providers, notably the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, pulled it amid opposition on several fronts. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, who authored Senate Bill 1031, had promised further amendments as it moved to the

Connecticut is gearing up to issue $450 million of general obligation bonds aimed first to retail Monday, in a deal with many features that are popular in the current market, particularly more than half offered to taxable muni investors.  The bonds will also be buoyed by Connecticut’s brand — the state has developed a reputation

Municipal supply is set to top $14 billion next week, a high not seen in almost seven years, just as yields have hit year-to-date highs and relative value has improved. While participants expect some pressure ahead in the near-term, they also say the current yield and ratio set offers investors opportunity. The hefty primary next

Oregon economists in their June forecast predicted a 50-50 chance the state’s residents will receive a kicker tax credit in 2026 as revenues are coming in at a slow and steady pace. The state has a trigger mechanism that returns money to taxpayers every two years through a so-called kicker rebate if personal income taxes

On Tuesday, Moody’s changed its outlook on Maryland’s credit rating to negative from stable due to a depletion of the state’s general fund surplus, while affirming the state’s issuer and general obligation bond ratings at Aaa. The Maryland State Treasurer’s office isn’t showing a lot of concern.  “After hosting a successful briefing with all three

Houston Independent School District officials unveiled a massive $4.4 billion bond proposal for the November ballot that would address aging facilities, update technology, and improve security without increasing taxes. The plan, presented to the district’s Community Advisory Committee on Thursday, will be heading soon to the school board for a final vote on holding a

Issuance surged in May as Fed policy uncertainty, pent-up capital needs and mega deals helped volume top $40 billion for the month, the first time since 2016. May’s volume stood at $43.957 billion in 866 issues, up 46.9% from $29.919 billion in 802 issues in 2023. This is above the 10-year average of $35.896 billion.

Cabrera Capital Markets has hired ex-Citi banker Tom Rasmussen as a managing director to head municipal sales, trading and underwriting as it climbs up the rankings. Rasmussen, who worked at Citi for more than 33 years running and forming teams, said he couldn’t say no to the opportunity to run Cabrera’s municipal trading and sales

The Guam Power Authority plans to sell about $64 million of revenue refunding bonds in mid-July. The board of the Guam Consolidated Commission on Utilities on Tuesday approved the deal unanimously. The Guam legislature and Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero have already approved it. The Guam Public Utilities Commission was expected to approve it Thursday, said

A pair of top Congressional Republicans Wednesday opened an investigation into the Biden administration’s allocation of billions of federal dollars to California’s ambitious and pricey high-speed train project. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., chair of the the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, sent Transportation

Municipals sold off Wednesday following another weaker U.S. Treasury session while equities were down near the close. Muni yields rose two to 13 basis points, depending on the curve, coming on the tailwind of a market correction, said Brad Libby, a fixed-income portfolio manager and credit analyst at Hartford Funds. Mixed economic data has been

Separately managed accounts have grown rapidly following the financial crisis, partly buoyed by greater adoption of electronic trading. SMAs may hold as much as $1.5 trillion of munis, according to some market participants, while others peg it closer to $1 trillion to $1.3 trillion. Regardless of the total, this is up exponentially from the $100

Dallas would ramp up contributions to its Police and Fire Pension System over five years and could pursue additional funding options, including pension obligation bonds and using a portion of sales taxes earmarked for mass transit, under recommendations presented to a city council committee.  Jack Ireland, Dallas’ chief financial officer, told the Ad Hoc Committee

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared “the long wait is over” as he cheered the Biden administration’s action this month to reclassify marijuana in the eyes of the federal government.  The move, which is now in a public comment period, would change marijuana from a Schedule I drug on par with heroin and LSD to Schedule

Municipals took a breather Friday ahead of the long weekend and a much smaller calendar after seeing yields rise and underperform U.S. Treasuries, pushing ratios to levels last seen in November 2023. In addition to “more attractive raw yields, municipal underperformance has allowed relative values to improve as well,” noted Kim Olsan, senior vice president

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology violated its bond covenant at the beginning of the month when it missed a monthly $1.2 million interest payment to the bond trustee. Jessica Warren, Harrisburg University’s executive director of marketing and communications, said the university only needs to make interest payments twice a year on its outstanding bond

The flooding in Vermont last summer illustrates climate change’s impact on U.S. localities and their financial responses. Severe floods that were triggered by several days of heavy rainfall in Vermont left homes washed out and businesses and municipal facilities with severe physical damage. It also left some of the rural communities in the state, which

As states and the federal government grapple with ways to replace or complement the diminishing gas tax, the idea of a per-mile user fee has gained public support over the last decade. That’s according to the latest annual survey from the Mineta Transportation Institute, based at San Jose State University, which for the last 15

Debt issued by the California Community Choice Finance Authority, a conduit for the state’s community choice aggregators, has climbed to nearly $10 billion in the three years since its inception. The first California CCA agency was created in 2010 to offer communities alternatives to purchasing power from private utilities and to encourage growth in more

The U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s financial situation is the worst in more than 30 years, one board director said Thursday. Board Director Hubert Turnbull made the remark at the board’s monthly meeting as a prelude to asking CEO Andrew Smith to explain the authority’s financial situation. WAPA had to turn to the

Municipals sold off Thursday with more cuts across the curve as a correction has ensued for the asset class just ahead of the summer reinvestment season. U.S. Treasuries saw losses and equities were also in the red. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows as investors pulled $217.6 million from the funds