Bonds

On Monday President Joe Biden addressed the nation about the federal response to Hurricane Helene and signaled he would ask Congress for supplemental disaster funding.  “That’s my expectation,” he said.  He also hinted at calling lawmakers back into session to help deal with the emergency. “That is something I may have to request. No decisions

Warren “Bo” Daniels, managing director and head of public finance for Loop Capital, will take over as chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Oct. 1, bringing a three decade career to an organization set to take major steps forward in the coming year. Jennie Bennett, associate vice president for finance at the University of

The Louisiana Bond Commission approved the sale of $620 million in aviation revenue bonds and $220 million in sales tax bonds and modified conditions for up to $1 billion in gas and fuels tax bonds it previously authorized. The commission consented to the sale of up to $575 million in general airport revenue refunding bonds

Georgia’s weakening economy and the long-run impact of recent tax cuts are concerns, credit analysts say, albeit ones the state’s triple-A bond ratings may ride out successfully. The state’s unemployment rate has gone up for four consecutive months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The GOP-dominated state government has been cutting the top

Almost every state has cut taxes over the past few years, but as the economy returns to normal, budget shortfalls are starting to emerge.  “The past few years have been dominated by tax cuts,” said Richard Auxier,  a principal policy associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “From 2021 to 2023, 48 out of 50 states

A Missouri government is the latest to offer government support — funded through municipal bonds —to revive a moribund mall.  But developer River City Centre’s plan for West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau, a city of 40,500 along Interstate 55 about midway between St. Louis and Memphis, breaks with the current trend of converting malls

The House last week passed a package of bills aimed at curbing the use of environmental, social and governance factors in retirement investment decisions and limiting Securities and Exchange Commission climate-related disclosure rules. The bills were part of what the GOP dubbed an “anti-woke week” on the Hill. The legislation has little chance of advancing

Jason Akers got hooked on public finance early. The National Association of Bond Lawyers’ new president was fresh out of school, working for a large Southeast firm, when one of its bond lawyers took him under his wing. “I enjoyed the interaction with public officials, helping to make their ideas reality,” Akers told The Bond

Kentucky’s issuer rating was upgraded to Aa2 from Aa3 and the outlook changed to stable from positive by Moody’s Ratings. The move follows upgrades by Fitch Ratings in May 2023 and by S&P Global Ratings in June 2023. The agency upgraded to Aa3 from A1 $4.4 billion of general fund appropriation backed debt and to

Moody’s Ratings lifted Oklahoma’s issuer rating a notch to Aa1 with a stable outlook on Wednesday, citing the state’s strong fund balances, low leverage, and conservative budget management.  The upgrade is the first for Oklahoma since Moody’s, Fitch Ratings, and S&P Global Ratings  revised their outlooks for the state to positive from stable beginning last

A Major League Soccer stadium in Frisco, Texas, will undergo bond-financed renovations under an agreement approved Tuesday by the city council.  The Frisco Community Development Corp. will issue up to $182 million of sales tax revenue bonds for the Toyota Stadium project, which must commence by Dec. 31, 2025, and be completed by the end

On Tuesday, former President Trump announced support for lifting the cap on the State and Local Tax deduction, a move which has wide support from municipal bond issuers.  Trump made the announcement via his Truth Social network as part of a personal post saying, “I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your taxes,

Coal-fired electric generation is buffeted by market and regulatory forces, but bond investors in one Missouri utility’s coal-plant refinancing should be insulated, analysts say. The Missouri Electric Commission this week is issuing $105 million of power project revenue refunding bonds to refund bonds it issued in 2014 for the Plum Point Energy Station in Osceola,

An Oregon American Indian tribe is suing the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management over its approval of coastal leases for offshore wind projects. The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians filed the suit Friday in U.S. District Court in Eugene against the ocean energy bureau, accusing it of violating two federal

California’s massive size and tax structure has long given it municipal bond market protection against credit challenges like its well-known tax revenue volatility. The state government’s strengths, providing relatively liquid paper through high volume in a specialty state with high marginal tax rates, often outweigh its credit weaknesses for investors. But massive deficits during the

A $70 million bond issue for a central Arizona town is the target of a lawsuit that claims the debt’s approval last month violated the state constitution.   Council members in Payson, a town of about 16,680 in Gila County, passed a resolution for the sale of the tax-exempt, fixed-rate “pledged revenue obligations” in a 6-1

The muni bond market grew in the second quarter as ownership by household and exchange-traded funds grew, while U.S. banks and insurers continued to reduce their holdings, the latest Federal Reserve data shows. The face amount of munis outstanding ticked up to $4.129 trillion, a 1.1% increase from the first quarter of this year and

House Republicans are squabbling over legislation that ties keeping the government open past Sept. 30 to legislation that would strengthen voting rules, as state and local governments brace for a possible curtailment of federal funding.  The bill, labeled as the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” adds additional obstacles to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting in

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump shined no new light on the economic and tax policies important to the municipal bond market during their high-stakes debate Tuesday night, though brief mentions of housing, energy policy and tariffs carry modest interest to participants. “The debate was pretty light in general,” said Matt Fabian,

Texas public school districts launched a new school year based in some cases on shaky budgets with depleted reserves as they cope with increasing costs, a state per-pupil allotment that hasn’t risen since 2019, and the expiration of federal pandemic relief funding. Still, the overall credit quality for the more than 300 Texas school districts