Bonds

The City of Richmond, Virginia is changing course on a nearly $280 million bond issuance that will build a new minor league baseball stadium anchoring a $2.4 billion mixed-use project on 67-acres just northwest of downtown Richmond.  Last week the Diamond District project, which includes retail, housing, and office space took a public financing turn when the

Bond insurance continued its upward trajectory in the first quarter of 2024, leading the two top municipal bond insurers to expand. Municipal bond insurance grew 24.4% in the first quarter of the 2024 year-over-year. The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped $7.132 billion in the first quarter of 2024, up from the $5.735 billion of

Spreads on Build America Bonds have widened “significantly” in the last few months amid a wave of refinancings despite a debate over the legal ability of issuers to call the debt, according to municipal bond strategists. So far this year, the BABs index option-adjust spread has cheapened 10bps compared to the ICE Broad Taxable Municipal

The late March collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge raises questions about the age and resiliency of U.S. infrastructure that engineers and the finance industry will need to address together. That’s the view of Maria Lehman, immediate past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, GHD’s infrastructure market leader for the United States

The not-for-profit healthcare sector continues to face challenges, including a high number of bond covenant violations, which can provide an early warning of payment defaults, said Lisa Washburn, chief credit officer and managing director for Municipal Market Analytics.   “The hospital sector has definitely seen improvement since the worst of 2022, but I would still

Municipals were mixed Thursday in secondary trading as focus shifted to California’s nearly $1.5 billion of tax-exempt and taxable general obligation bond deals in the competitive market while U.S. Treasuries were weaker out long after Wednesday’s short-end selloff and equities were in the black at the close. Triple-A yield curves saw a mix of bumps

S&P Global Ratings lowered Dunkirk, New York’s general obligation bonds by three notches to BBB-minus from A-minus and withdrew the rating. S&P removed the rating from negative CreditWatch where it had been placed on March 4. The outlook on the credit is negative. The GOs had been secured by the city’s faith-and-credit pledge. “We lowered

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday upgraded its long-term rating on Detroit’s unlimited-tax general obligation debt to investment grade, raising it to BBB from BB-plus. The outlook is stable. The rating agency said the change reflected a stronger financial position and its “increased confidence in the city’s ability to sustain balance within the construct of its

Two San Francisco public finance attorneys, who worked on one of healthcare’s largest public finance deals at their previous firm, have been hired by Chapman and Cutler LLP. Mary Kimura joined the law firm on March 28 as a partner, while Michele Dulik, started Monday as senior counsel. Both will work in the firm’s San

Munis were a touch firmer in spots Tuesday as the primary market ramped up and investors awaited Wednesday’s inflation report to give further guidance on Fed rate cuts. U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities were mixed at the close. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 65%, the three-year at 64%, the five-year at 61%,

Bond parties who oppose the proposed Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority plan of adjustment are trying to bar a key document from Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, which could greatly undermine FAFAA’s influence in the bankruptcy’s final phase. Non-consenting bondholders said FAFAA didn’t file a pre-plan of adjustment hearing findings of fact

Municipals were steady to slightly weaker in spots Monday ahead of a rebound in issuance that tops $8.5 billion. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were up. Triple-A yield curves saw yields rise up to three basis points, depending on the scale, further softening ahead of a growing new-issue slate and the last week before

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed the city’s largest property tax historically: an eight-year, $1.35 billion levy to pay for bridge, street and sidewalk projects. The Transportation Levy Proposal would replace and extend the $930 million nine-year Move Seattle levy, approved by voters in 2015, which expires this year. The current levy provides roughly 30% of

California lawmakers fine-tuned their March budget proposal, cutting spending by $17.3 billion ahead of formal discussions to get a head start on difficult decisions amid a record deficit. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced they reached an agreement Thursday, providing specifics about how they plan to

Following another better-than-expected jobs report, U.S. Treasuries sold off and were volatile throughout the session leading municipals to see a weaker, but more muted tone than their taxable counterparts. Equities rallied. The March employment report sent “the bond market in panic mode over Fed cuts being delayed,” according to Bryce Doty, senior portfolio manager/vice president at

The Department of Transportation and Baltimore County have reached an agreement to divert a previously awarded DOT grant to help nearby ports accommodate more cargo following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. That comes along with the announcement Thursday that DOT’s Federal Transit Administration will allocate $20.5 billion to state and local government

Miami-Dade County, Florida, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has dropped plans for a proposed a $2.5 billion municipal bond referendum in November that would have funded infrastructure projects. Instead, the mayor said Thursday she will work to propose an even larger bonding plan that will include money for transit projects. Proceeds from the “305 Future Ready”

In a ceremony watched by thousands of issuers, the White House Thursday unveiled an overhaul of how it sends billions of federal funds to cities, states and nonprofits in an effort to cut red tape, expand the pool of grant recipients and simplify reporting and compliance. “The changes being finalized and announced today are historic

The first quarter of the year saw the highest number of new municipal bond impairments since the Great Recession, according to Municipal Market Analytics, Inc. There were 47 new impairments eclipsing the previous post-Great Recession peak of 44 in 2019, the firm said in its Default Trends report released Wednesday. The first quarter’s impairments “continue

Fitch Ratings’ new U.S. local government rating criteria is expected to lead to changes to about 550 ratings in the next six months. Fitch adopted the new criteria — which will affect cities, counties, school districts, and special districts — after working on the revision since the fall. The criteria will also be used to

The Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced $20 billion of grants to spur clean energy projects primarily in underserved areas, marking the largest federal investment to date in climate-related projects. The money, divided among eight applicants, marks the official launch of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created by President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction