Bonds

Although New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams didn’t shed much light on the timing of federal interest rate cuts during a fireside chat at Milken Institute’s Global conference in Beverly Hills on Monday, he did offer some insight into his thinking. Amid stubbornly high inflation, the Federal Reserve reiterated in its post-meeting statement

Illinois will issue $1.8 billion of general obligation bonds — $250 million taxable Series 2024A and $1.55 billion tax-exempt Series 2024B — to fund accelerated pension benefit payments and capital expenditures through the Rebuild Illinois program.  The fixed-rate bonds are expected to price this week. Jefferies, Siebert Williams Shank and Barclays are joint senior managers

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green failed to convince lawmakers to consider legislation that would have allowed struggling Hawaii Electric Co. to issue bonds backed by a rate increase. Senate Bill 2922, introduced by Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Chair Jarrett Keohokalole, would have allowed HECO to issue up to $2.5 billion in low-interest bonds, if it

Oklahoma’s list of investment banks determined to be “boycotting” the fossil fuel industry expanded with the addition of Barclays, making it ineligible for state and local government contracts, State Treasurer Todd Russ announced Friday.  Barclays joins Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo, which were placed on the list last year under the state’s

When Oregon voters consider $1.23 billion in bond measures on the May 21 ballot, issuers will be hoping for a more favorable outcome than local issuers received in November. Only two bond measures totaling $19 million were approved in November out of the $474.95 million requested during the special election. “Historically, the November election has

Legislation that would pave the way for a Colorado bond authority to issue debt for its purchase of a hotel that inspired Stephen King’s The Shining cleared a state Senate committee this week ahead of the May 8 end of the legislative session.  The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority (CECFA) is pursuing buying the

After a down year, healthcare issuance has rebounded as systems reenter the bond market to deal with pent-up needs. Despite this recovery, challenges still persist. Healthcare issuance is up 122.2% year-over-year through April, rising to $9.062 billion through the first four months of 2024 from $4.078 billion over the same time period in 2023, LSEG

President Biden’s newly revised environmental permitting rules to implement his climate and environmental-justice agenda faced swift pushback from construction groups and Republicans who say it will delay critical infrastructure and drive up costs. The administration Tuesday released a final rule to revise the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, the rule that governs how it

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of expansive tax cut legislation barely fended off an override, which fell short by one vote in the Senate after easily passing the House.  House Bill 2036, which cleared the Republican-controlled legislature in April with hefty majority votes, included changes to income, sales, and property taxes that would result in

Ahead of an expected push to broaden tax-exempt financing authority for tribal governments next year, a pair of Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis economists are recommending the tax code be reformed to allow tribes greater access to the financing tool. An April 25 paper titled “Tax code constraints limit tribal tax-exempt bonding” notes the relatively

The California Treasurer’s office will relaunch its DebtWatch website on May 1, offering a more user-friendly format with vastly more data than the original 2015 version. The website’s software will allow investors, issuers and taxpayers to access all the data the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission gathers on bond issuance to allow them to

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed tax cut legislation that she called “too expensive” and offered lawmakers a less-costly alternative. The Democratic governor, who in January vetoed a previous tax reduction bill passed by the Republican-controlled legislation, said the latest measure “jeopardizes our state’s future fiscal stability.”    House Bill 2036, which cleared the House

The recently announced sale of the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes and the team’s move to Utah could lead to bond issuances for arena projects in both states.  Under a plan approved by the NHL Board of Governors last week, the team, which had been unable to secure a permanent arena in Arizona, was sold

The California Supreme Court has granted review of a case challenging retirement reforms state lawmakers approved 11 years ago, marking a return of pension spiking questions to the high court for the first time since a 2020 ruling on an Alameda County case. The new case — Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association v. Criminal Justice

Rockefeller Asset Management added three new portfolio managers to bolster its municipal investment strategies within in its fixed income division, the firm announced Monday. Scott Cottier, Mark DeMitry and Michael Camarella will join Rockefeller from Invesco, where they managed the California Value Municipal Income Trust and the Trust for Investment Grade New York Municipals. They

Local government officials in Texas are increasingly feeling the sting of 2021 state laws that banned big banks from underwriting municipal bonds for “boycotting” or “discriminating” against the fossil fuel or firearm industries. Several aired their grievances at The Bond Buyer’s Texas Public Finance conference in Austin last week, noting the impact of the laws,

Healthy reserves and plans to increase permanent funds to mitigate revenue fluctuations earned Wyoming a positive outlook from S&P Global Ratings. S&P affirmed the state’s AA issuer credit rating, which now has a one-in-three chance of being upgraded over the next two years, as a result of the the positive outlook being elevated from stable,

The Inflation Reduction Act has paved the way for broader participation in affordable housing and a renewed focus by developers on sustainability, panelists at Baker Tilly’s 2024 DevelUP conference said this week. One panelist called the 2022 law “the largest opportunity to build foundational generational wealth that you will experience,” and others praised the tax

A contentious rule proposal has a host of broker-dealer and investment firms calling for a rewrite as the effects on the municipal bond market portend calamity.  “Overall, we recommend that the rules in general be reconsidered and ideally rewritten,” said Susan Joyce, head of muni trading & FI market structure, AllianceBernstein. “We definitely see a

When it comes to issuing municipal bonds in Louisiana, state Treasurer John Fleming like things just the way they are. Fleming is pushing back against a proposal in the state Legislature that would make changes to the way the state Bond Commission oversees the issuance of debt by cities, counties and local governments and entities.