Bonds

Not-for-profit hospital balance sheets are on the mend from last year’s challenges that inflicted deep damage on balance sheets, but pressures persist and the recovery is slow going, according to reports published this week. Hospital finances showed signs of stabilizing in May with some improvement in operating margins, declining expenses and notable increases in outpatient visits,

Municipals were little changed in secondary trading Wednesday while sizable deals from Massachusetts, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and others that saw ample demand in the primary and municipal bond mutual funds saw more inflows. U.S. Treasuries were firmer and equities closed mixed. Triple-A yield curves were firmer by a basis point in spots

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain rejected a request by bond parties for her to certify interlocutory appeals of her decisions in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy. In a Wednesday hearing, Swain said she did not see a reason to reconsider her May decision rejecting certifying an appeal to her decision against a

The judge in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said the bondholders should get about 28.4% of par value of debt and interest outstanding, largely in line with a figure the Oversight Board said was available. U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Monday set a bond claim value of about $2.405 billion. This

Pension funding-related threats to Chicago and Illinois’ fiscal health are on the rise, reports published this week warn. Chicago and Illinois — longtime examples of outliers nationally on the size of their unfunded liabilities and funded ratios — have made progress, with Chicago now making payments more closely aligned with an actuarial calculation and both

Vikram Rai, head of Citi’s municipal strategy group, has left the firm, he announced on Monday, after his position was eliminated. “Today was my last day at Citi,” he said in an email to clients. “I got cut,” he told The Bond Buyer. “I’m looking for a new job now.” Rai is an outspoken and

A federal bankruptcy court judge sided with Detroit in a ruling Monday that the police and fire pension system lacked authority to bypass the city’s Chapter 9 plan of adjustment and cut 10 years off the amortization of unfunded liabilities. The Police and Fire Retirement System voted in 2021 to shift to a 20-year amortization

The California Housing Finance Agency had its rating upgraded to Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited the state treasurer conduit’s improved financial strength. It is the highest rating in agency history, according to CalHFA, and is among the top ratings that Moody’s assigns to housing finance agencies nationwide. “This rating has CalHFA well-positioned to

Market data platform SOLVE has launched a new platform that provides information for market professionals through the aggregation, curation and delivery of available historical and real-time fixed-income data. Some of the resources available include color from SOLVE’s AI-powered technology, regulatory compliance solutions, coverage of illiquid securities and a suite of tools for new-issue and secondary

As New York City officials grapple with finding ways to balance their budget for the next fiscal year, one area of growing concern revolves around the very ground that the city is built on — commercial real estate. Comptroller Brad Lander’s office last week took a deep dive into how hybrid work is affecting the

Broker-dealers remain hopeful for policy issues vital to the municipal bond market including restoring advance refunding and raising the bank-qualified limit following a Bond Dealers of America fly-in event Thursday. Representatives of BDA member firms descended on Congress in a lobbying blitz that included visits with lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee and the

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday announced a five-year, $14 billion capital plan that would lean on a mix of funding to carry out work across the state. The fiscal 2024-2028 Capital Investment Plan, Healey’s first capital spending proposal since taking office, includes spending for housing development, transportation, and green energy. “We’re also expanding support

Municipals were slightly firmer Friday ahead of a larger new-issue calendar with bellwether names, as U.S. Treasuries were stronger to close out the week while equities ended in the red. The $6.9 billion new-issue calendar features several high-grade deals, including nearly $1 billion of refunding general obligation bonds from Massachusetts, $886 million of GOs from

Municipals had another constructive session by holding steady Thursday as inflows returned to municipal bond mutual funds for only the second time since early February. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Thursday was at 61%, the three-year at 63%, the five-year at 65%, the 10-year at 67% and the

After a late-night legislative session on Wednesday, members of the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted 38-0 to approve a fiscal year 2024 budget that matches the $3.2 billion size and most substance of Mayor John Cooper’s May budget plan, preserving his signature proposal for a pay increase for public employees, while shifting some funds to do

Cook County expects to end the current fiscal year with a surplus providing some cushion as it looks to erase an $85.6 million gap looming in the next budget as rising salary and pension expenses, healthcare, and a state change on personal property replacement tax distributions weigh on the county’s fiscal landscape. The gap next

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board said challenges to its Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority projections are “irrelevant.” The board filed its argument Tuesday evening in response to a PREPA bondholders filing a week earlier defending their right to have U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain consider their attacks on the assumptions of the fiscal

State budget surpluses are boosting transportation investment, with state lawmakers approving nearly $13.5 billion in new transportation funding in the first six months of the year. One-time funding measures, many of which will use bonds, account for half of all the bills that have been introduced this session, according to the American Road & Transportation

Municipals showed some strength Tuesday, U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended down. Triple-A scales bumped up to five basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields fell three to five basis points. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Tuesday was at 62%, the three-year at 65%, the five-year at 66%, the 10-year at 68% and

Moody’s Investors Service put the Guam Power Authority revenue bonds’ Baa2 rating on review for a possible downgrade following damage from Typhoon Mawar that hit the territory in late May. Moody’s on Wednesday said the downgrade review stemmed from Mawar’s damage to the territory and “to a lesser extent to GPA’s infrastructure,” said William Oh,