Bonds

The U.S. would get a national infrastructure bank that would partner with states and local governments to attract private equity and pension funds under a bipartisan bill unveiled this month. It’s the latest legislation to pursue the idea, which lawmakers have floated repeatedly over the years as a way to spur private investment into the

Greenberg Traurig gained five public finance lawyers who joined the law firm’s Houston office this month from Orrick.  Adrian Patterson, who served as Houston office leader at Orrick, joined Greenberg as a shareholder, along with Robert Collie and James Hernandez as of counsels, and Noe Hinojosa III and Donna McIntosh as associates, the law firm

As the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority prepares to hit the market with a green bond deal, the agency is tackling economic, social and infrastructure challenges. Like many other mass transit authorities across the nation, WMATA has seen its ridership — and farebox revenue — decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it also faces unique

S&P Global Ratings upgraded Illinois by one notch Thursday for ongoing progress in chipping away at its debts and rebuilding its rainy day fund. The action — lifting $26.5 billion of general obligation bonds to A-minus from BBB-plus — puts the state back into the single-A category for the first time in seven years and

A municipal fintech platform for asset management firms, banks, insurance companies, and municipal advisors is being developed by Assured Guaranty’s new subsidiary, AG Analytics. The platform intends to deliver best-in-class technology and turnkey solutions to replace fragmented data resources used by municipal asset managers, analysts and other market participants. “Many asset managers are using too

Rejecting nearly all of the challenges to its disclosure statement and plan of adjustment in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy, the Puerto Rico Oversight Board attempted to explain why National Public Finance Guarantee could get preferential treatment. National’s treatment is permissible since it is supported by a “legitimate basis,” the board said, citing

For Janice Hofferber, new head of U.S. public finance at Moody’s Investors Service, a focus on fundamentals is key to all the agency does. “Our goal and our mission is really this — to provide investors with the insightful research that will help them make better investment decisions,” she told The Bond Buyer. Hofferber, who

A bill introduced in California’s legislature would prohibit banks or lenders with business customers that manufacture firearms from working on the state’s public finances. Senate Bill 637, introduced Thursday by California Sen. Dave Min, D-Costa Mesa, applies to every aspect of the state’s public finances including municipal bonds, capital projects and the state’s debt portfolio,

The quest to find a long-term funding fix for the Chicago region’s transit system began in earnest during the last month with Chicago area civic, planning, and business leaders on board. With ridership slow to return after the COVID-19 pandemic, the region’s bus and rail systems face a $730 million fiscal cliff in 2026 when

A big Texas bond deal to recover extraordinary costs incurred by natural gas utilities during a fierce 2021 winter storm finally won approval Friday from a state board, paving the way for pricing next month.  The Texas Bond Review Board approved the issuance of up to $3.6 billion of taxable customer rate relief bonds by

Municipals were weaker Friday ahead of a holiday-shortened week with a smaller new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries were firmer, and equities ended mixed. Triple-A benchmarks were cut three to 11 basis points, depending on the scale, pushing the one-year muni above 3% and the 30-year to 3.50%. UST yields fell two to five basis points. Muni-UST

The Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. plans to price $135 million of special revenue bonds Wednesday to support its affordable mortgage program for first-time and lower income home buyers. The issuer, also known as RIHousing, is the state’s housing finance agency. The largest of the three tranches of Homeownership Opportunity Bonds is the

Property tax cuts and expanded school vouchers will be fast tracked for consideration by Texas lawmakers after Gov. Greg Abbott included them in a list of emergency items for the legislative session. In his Thursday evening State of the State address, the Republican governor also said he will soon announce a $100 billion transportation infrastructure

Tax-exempt bonds for sports stadiums are once again in the crosshairs under a bill introduced this week by Oregon Democrat Rep. Earl Blumenauer. The bill would amend the tax code – or “close a loophole,” as Blumenauer said – to eliminate the federal tax exemption for bonds that finance or refinance capital expenditures for a

Two of the Federal Reserve board’s seven governors abstained from supporting the selection of former Obama aide Austan Goolsbee to become president of the Chicago Fed, according to a record of the vote. Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, who were both appointed to the board by former President Donald Trump, withheld their support for

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is seeking comment on draft amendments to Rules G-47 on time of trade disclosures and D-15, which defines the sophisticated municipal market professional. The draft amendments to Rule G-47 codifies existing guidance, adds additional disclosures that may be material, retires and consolidates certain elements of interpretive guidance and makes other

The Georgia Ports Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers have signed an agreement to expand the Port of Brunswick, a move state officials said will help prepare the port for expansion. The agreement, announced Monday, clears the way for the Corps to begin dredging and widening certain sections of the port to accommodate larger

Municipals extended their sell-off Thursday, as the front end of the curve was hit the hardest. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, and equities ended in the red. Triple-A benchmarks were cut 13 to 17 basis points at the one-year, depending on the scale, pushing it to around 3%. Muni-UST ratios rose on the short end. The

Municipals sold off Wednesday in secondary trading, with the short end seeing the largest cuts, as several large deals priced in the primary. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities ended mixed after a strong retail sales report. Triple-A benchmark yields were cut six to 16 basis points, depending on the scale, pushing the one-year muni

Puerto Rico Oversight Board member Justin Peterson and other observers of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy criticized what they said was the board’s attack on U.S. revenue bonds in the lien adversary proceeding and called for state attorneys general to intervene. “The board’s actions and arguments in the PREPA lien adversary proceeding are

Former Pittsburgh-based banker Maurice “Mossie” Murphy Jr. moved on from the public finance business more than decade ago but he left his mark on colleagues who said his big personality, camaraderie, and support stood out in their competitive field. Murphy died in December after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 58. Murphy joined the