Bonds

Florida’s unemployment rate inched up to 2.9% in November from 2.8% in October, Florida Commerce reported on Friday. Florida’s jobless rate was 0.8 percentage point lower than the 3.7% national rate in November, the 37th straight month the state’s unemployment rate remained below that of the nation as a whole. The state’s overall workforce continued

Cities and states saw pension liabilities rise in fiscal 2022 amid negative market returns even as they significantly boosted contributions with the support of federal stimulus aid. Those are the findings of a new white paper, “State and Local Pension Funds 2022,” which reviews the performance of 648 pension funds making up 90% of all

News of the $68 billion budget deficit projected for California in fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24 raised alarm bells. But several state budget watchers say longer-term trends are less worrying. Though S&P Global Ratings revised the state’s outlook to stable from positive Friday, the rating agency has said the state remains solidly in the double-A

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said the central bank should begin to reduce interest rates — though not immediately — offering a softer pushback against widespread market expectations of early 2024 cuts than some of his peers. “It’s important that we start to move rates down,” Harker said Wednesday in a local

Oregon received $600 million in federal money to help support the long-planned reconstruction of the Interstate 5 bridge that connects Portland to Vancouver, Washington. The project received the full funding amount requested from the U.S. Department of Transportation grant program, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement. “This is a big moment for the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said it’s too early for officials to begin thinking about cutting rates as soon as March as they consider whether policy is restrictive enough to get inflation back to 2%. “We aren’t really talking about rate cuts,” Williams said Friday in an interview on CNBC. He

Connecticut is set to price $840 million of general obligation bonds next week, the state’s last issuance of a year with landmark fiscal policy decisions. The state, which renewed fiscal responsibility measures, lowered income taxes and maintained strong economic metrics, kept its solid ratings from all four agencies for the upcoming deal.  “Management in Connecticut,

A proposed deal for a massive mixed-used arena project in Alexandria, Virginia, would be mostly financed through $1.05 billion in project revenue bonds issued by the newly named Virginia Stadium Authority. Details and hardening local opposition are emerging regarding the development of a 12-acre site in Potomac Yard, a former rail hub that straddles Arlington

A sales tax extension to fund a replacement professional sports and concert arena costing at least $900 million won overwhelming approval from Oklahoma City voters Tuesday. The continuation of a Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS 4) one-cent sales tax for six years beyond its April 1, 2028 expiration date passed with 71% of the vote amid

Federal highway officials Wednesday defended the seemingly slow rollout of a high-profile federally funded program to create a national network of electric vehicle chargers. Ohio last week opened what is so far the nation’s first — and only — electric vehicle charging station funded through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. New York is

Two big Illinois issuers have scheduled refunding deals with planned pricings on Thursday, with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to issue $900 million of series 2024A senior revenue refunding bonds and Chicago’s Midway Airport to sell $393 million of series 2023C senior revenue refunding bonds.   Rising interest rates had made refundings thin on the

America’s local communities are woefully ill-equipped to deal with the steady onslaught of disasters happening across the country and Congressional leaders need to act to lower the threshold and permanently reauthorize the Community Development Block Grants – Disaster Relief program. That was one key message delivered during the Senate Committee on Transportation, Housing and Urban

Oregon lawmakers were forced to approve $19 million in emergency funding last week to bolster its highway maintenance as winter approaches. Oregon Department of Transportation officials had begun implementing significant service reductions within maintenance and operations amid shortfalls caused by a decline in gas tax revenues, record high inflation and limitations on budgeted agency funds.

As the Biden Administration attempts to make affordable housing a key issue, some experts and lawmakers would prefer less federal intervention.  House Republicans would like to see changes in zoning, interest rates, and a reduced role for the Federal Housing Finance Agency. “As we confront these affordability challenges, what seems to get left out of

From research into AI to collaborative events encouraging the development of automation, Federal Housing Finance Agency Associate Director Anne Marie Pippin has been involved in several projects that given her broad insight into what the next wave of technology development in the industry may look like. In this discussion at NMN’s Digital Mortgage Conference, she

A potential overhaul of Colorado’s property tax system is the target of a bill Gov. Jared Polis signed into law Tuesday as he took action on remaining legislation lawmakers passed during a special session to provide short-term property tax relief.  House Bill 1003 creates a commission tasked with identifying, considering, and evaluating options “for a

It took about two minutes into a House transportation subcommittee hearing Wednesday before the California high-speed rail project was singled out for criticism. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, chair of the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, opened the hearing on intercity rail by emphasizing the importance of balancing federal policies and spending with realistic consumer

Declining enrollment and fiscal constraints were cited by Moody’s Investors Service in a one-notch downgrade of Issaquah School District 411 in King County, Washington. The school district’s outlook was also revised to stable from negative, according to Monday’s ratings report. The district has roughly $670 million of general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) debt. The Moody’s

The Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems has dropped plans to build a first-of-its-kind nuclear plant amid dwindling support from cities on the hook to pay for the electricity. UAMPS, comprised of 50 municipally owned power systems across six Western states, was working with Oregon-based NuScale Power, LLC, to launch the nation’s first small modular reactor

The Arizona Industrial Development Authority as conduit issuer is set to offer a $230 million social bond next week to support a variety of high-performing public charter schools across the United States. Siebert Williams Shank as senior manager is slated to price the Series 2023A senior National Charter School revolving loan fund social revenue bonds