Bonds

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. questioned a key Biden Administration energy policy Thursday when he called tax credits for electric vehicles “ludicrous” amid strong consumer demand and a lack of American production of EV batteries.   “There’s a waiting list for electric vehicles with the fuel price at $4. But they still want us to throw

Challenges to the Puerto Rico Plan of Adjustment heard by the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Thursday will not impact the terms for bondholders, but may affect the government’s ability to pay debt service. Puerto Rico credit unions argued Puerto Rico’s central government engaged in fraud by pressuring them to buy nearly $1

Vermont’s largest city has until May 9, 2022 to respond to the Internal Revenue Service’s request to substantiate its use of project proceeds in relation to a 2010 bond issuance or lose out on the refundable tax credits associated with the Qualified School Construction Bonds program. The City of Burlington received that notice related to

Oklahoma is poised to follow in the footsteps of Texas in preventing banks from participating in municipal bond deals if they “discriminate” against the firearm industry or “boycott” fossil fuel energy companies with two bills nearing final legislative approval this week. On the gun front, House Bill 3144, which passed the state Senate in a

Chicago is counting on future casino tax revenue to avoid reverting to bad fiscal practices or raising property taxes as it seeks to structurally balance its books, the city’s chief financial officer warned City Council members at a hearing this week.   Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration last month narrowed a list of five casino development

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board rejected several local government initiatives, including the governor’s proposed fiscal 2023 budget. The board sent a letter on Friday to Gov. Pedro Pierluisi rejecting the budget he submitted on March 16, and two separate letters to Juan Zaragoza Gómez, Senate Finance Committee president, rejecting three Senate bills relating to firefighters

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation that gives the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago $600 million in pension obligation bonding authority at it looks to reach a funded goal of 65% by the end of 2026. The special-purpose district responsible for treating wastewater and providing stormwater management for Chicago and 128 suburbs closed

Municipals were steady to firmer in spots Monday but underperformed U.S. Treasuries that saw yields fall further while equities ended in the black led by tech stocks. Triple-A yield curves saw one to two basis point bumps while UST ended the session four to nine better after falling double-digits earlier in the day. Muni-UST ratios

Columbus heads into the market this week with a $423 million deal riding tailwinds from a rebounding revenue picture and the resolution of a lawsuit tied to 2020 remote work income tax collections. The triple-A-rated city will take indications of interest on $98 million of taxable bonds in two series on Monday with pricing to

Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings both downgraded not-for-profit-hospital chain Providence this week, following a Moody’s Investors Service cut earlier in April. For its downgrade to A-plus from AA-minus Wednesday, Fitch analysts said the action “predominately reflects Providence’s operational trajectory, and to a lesser extent, the separation of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian from the Obligated

There is value and incentive for states, localities and other governmental entities to create a public bank to localize their financial incentives for investment in their communities and provide low-cost financing for those communities. What is a public bank? It’s owned and controlled by a state, municipality or other governmental entity. There is one public

Nebraska is likely to use a public private partnership to finance completion of its expressway system now that the Legislature has passed a law authorizing transportation P3s. “The expressway system is the reason we introduced this bill,” said Amanda Callaway, legislative aide to state Sen. Lynne Walz, who sponsored LB 1016. The bill allows the

Proceeds from sales of about $1.3 billion in bonds would benefit cities and towns across Massachusetts under legislation Gov. Charlie Baker filed on Thursday. The bill, called the Future Opportunities for Resiliency, Workforce, and Revitalized Downtowns, or FORWARD, would authorize the use of $2.3 billion in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and

Municipals were steady to weaker in spots Friday ahead of a large new-issue calendar, while U.S. Treasuries were mixed and equities sold off upward of 2.5%. Investors will be greeted Monday with a big uptick in supply, with the new-issue calendar reaching $9.251 billion with $6.572 billion of negotiated deals and $2.679 billion of competitive

Utah’s top elected officials demanded on Thursday that S&P Global Ratings cease applying environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to the state through the use of what they called a politicized rating system based on indeterminate factors.  A letter to S&P signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, Treasurer Marlo Oaks, other state constitutional officeholders, legislative leaders,

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of two lower courts that had declared Puerto Ricans eligible for federal Supplemental Security Income benefits. The Supreme Court released its 8-1 decision in the United States v. Vaello Madero case on Thursday. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the a dissent. The SSI program provides financial assistance to disabled

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board intends to discuss the preliminary themes in the comments it received as part of its request for information on environmental social and governance factors, in its first meeting since the comment period closed in March. The board will discuss that along with the efforts to update trade reporting rules in

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives voted to end the commonwealth’s contract with LUMA Energy — under which it handles the electrical transmission and distribution grid — in the aftermath of a several-day long blackout. The House voted 29-16 with one abstention for the measure Tuesday. Members of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party provided the

Moody’s Investors Service revised the outlook for Phoenix’s Aa1 general obligation rating on Tuesday to stable from negative, citing “the city’s meaningful increases in pension contributions that will likely decrease liabilities over the long-term.” The rating agency also affirmed its Aa2 rating and stable outlook on the city’s senior and subordinate lien excise tax bonds.

Municipals sold off Tuesday, with triple-A benchmarks seeing cuts up to 11 basis points and the 30-year topping 3% on some scales. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, experiencing double-digit cuts on the short end, and equities rallied. Triple-A muni yields rose nine to 11 basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose 10 to