Bonds

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority mediation team called for simultaneous mediation, litigation and plan of adjustment creation. In response to Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s request for input, the mediators Shelley Chapman, Robert Drain and Brendan Shannon filed two documents with their proposals Thursday. Swain ordered mediation in the PREPA bankruptcy in late March to

Kaufman Hall & Associates LLC will acquire the consulting firm Claro Healthcare to scale up on the depth of its professional services for hospital and health systems that are navigating ongoing COVID-19 wounds made worse by a labor shortage and high expenses. Kaufman Hall, which specializes in the healthcare and higher education sectors, said Thursday

The municipal market has grown in overall size, market value has fallen and retail ownership trends are shifting amid the massive outflows from municipal bond mutual funds this year, the latest Federal Reserve data show. Retail investors may be moving out of mutual funds and into separately managed accounts, largely due to the headline shock

Owners of the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, want a downward reassessment of the shopping center’s property assessment, a move that if successful will reduce the amount of money paid to the municipality via a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes bond agreement. Those PILOT payments back $800 million of tax-exempt bonds issued to fund completion of

Illinois basked in a brighter fiscal picture as it met with the buy side this week than it did at its last event in 2019 when its ratings sat on the verge of junk, but investors still fret over how the state would weather a potential recession and its prospects for further progress. Illinois’ top

Municipals extended their selloff on the front of the curve Friday following U.S. Treasuries while equities sold off. Triple-A yields rose 11 to 15 basis points five years and in, depending on the scale, while UST saw smaller losses on the short end and improved slightly out long. Two- and three-year muni-UST ratios climbed to

Walk the walk, not talk the talk on fighting climate change and supporting environmental, social and governance goals, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on Thursday. Voicing concern that BlackRock Inc.’s investment actions don’t match up with its ESG policy commitments, Lander sent a letter to the company requesting immediate

Municipals were hit hard on the front end of the curve but the damage was felt throughout as triple-A yields rose up to 15 basis points and mutual fund outflows topped $2 billion. U.S. Treasuries sold off and equities were mixed. Municipal yields rose up to 15 basis points on the one- and two-year with

Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., may be frontrunner for chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee should Republicans win control of the House in November, but Jason Smith, R-Mo., whose efforts in recent months mark him as a close second and Adrian Smith, R-Neb., trails just behind in a tight race to lead one of Congress’

A dozen major financial firms have been sued for at least $1.42 billion because of their work on Puerto Rico municipal bonds and interest rate swaps dating back to 2007. Puerto Rico’s government and the Oversight Board initiated the suit against Barclays Capital, BMO Capital Markets, Banc of America Securities; Citibank; Goldman Sachs Bank USA;

San Antonio Water System (SAWS) will head into next week’s sale of $245 million of junior lien revenue bonds with a rating upgrade from one agency and a revised positive outlook from another. The bonds, which Piper Sandler & Co. is scheduled to price Sept. 27, will fund a portion of the system’s 2022 and

The Senate is eyeing October to take up the fiscal 2023 national defense act, a bill the municipal market is watching closely for an amendment that imposes new disclosure requirements on issuers. Sen. Chuck Schumer said Tuesday the Senate would take up the National Defense Authorization Act after Oct. 3 but before midterm elections. Republicans

States need more federal flexibility and consistency to be able to deliver the transportation projects promised in the new infrastructure law, state transportation officials told the Senate Wednesday. “State DOTs are going to be delivering the largest capital programs we’ve ever done and so listening to the states and giving the states the flexibility to

Seven Midwest states with eyes on tapping into federal infrastructure funding are joining forces to promote the development of “clean” hydrogen technologies in the region to bolster their economies lower energy costs while reducing carbon-related emissions. Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin signed the memorandum of understanding this week creating the Midwestern Hydrogen

The failed endeavor to build the Carolina Panthers football franchise a new headquarters in York County, South Carolina, has resulted in a thorny legal battle over who is to blame. Construction on the planned $800 million mixed-used facility in Rock Hill, meant to include state-of-the-art training facilities, office space, millions in utility investments, and green

Municipals were mixed after the Federal Open Market Committee implemented a third straight 75 basis point rate hike as it continues to combat inflation, pushing the two-year U.S. Treasury above 4% while the 10-, 20- and 30-year made gains. Equities ended in the red. The FOMC raised the fed funds rate target 75 basis points

The Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) should complete a master development plan before tapping proceeds from a 2021 bond issue, according to a limited review state audit released this week.  The quasi-governmental entity issued $150 million of bonds in December to finance an intermodal transportation center in Salt Lake City. The report by the Legislative

Massachusetts plans to bring $2.7 billion of taxable business-tax backed special obligation revenue bonds with a social designation, marking the largest environmental, social and governance deal to date in the municipal market. The deal is also one of the larger taxable deals in 2022 in a year that has seen a significant drop in taxable

Los Angeles International Airport received a $50 million grant from the federal infrastructure bill for terminal road improvements, among the largest dispersed from the $1 billion allocated to 85 airports nationally. The grants are the first allotment in a five-year, $5 billion airport terminal grant program funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Transportation

The Supreme Court decision in Carson v. Makin may render unconstitutional issuer statutes that prohibit the use of bond proceeds for religious purposes. The court ruled last month that if a state chooses to subsidize private education, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because of religious affiliation. The ruling could change the way some