Bonds

South Dakota voters will determine the fate of Initiated Measure 28, which would eliminate the state sales tax on groceries. Illinois, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Utah, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia have eliminated or reduced this tax, according to the Urban Institute Tax Policy Center.  “Grocery taxes are regarded as a regressive form of taxes, and cutting

Vice-President Kamala Harris’s recent comments on housing policy remind us that the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA), first introduced in 2016 by the 114th Congress, has yet to make it to a President’s desk.  Eight years on, it may be worth considering other legislative options to stimulate affordable housing production. The ACHIA would reduce

Municipals were little changed to firmer in spots Tuesday as U.S. Treasury yields fell while equities sold off to start September. “With August now behind us, munis continued the summer rally with [the month] returning 0.79%, pushing year-to-date gains to 1.30%,” said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities. This marked the first

The North Texas Tollway Authority is seeking savings through bond refundings and tenders in a $1.126 billion deal that tops this week’s municipal bond sale calendar.  The NTTA scheduled a Thursday pricing for the tax-exempt debt offered in two series – $446.14 million of first tier revenue bonds to fund a tender offer for taxable

The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia’s $373 million of subordinated bonds are scheduled to price on Sept. 5. The bonds are rated A2 by Moody’s Ratings and A-minus by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. The ratings have stable outlooks. BofA Securities will serve as senior manager and Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo Securities

Municipals were little changed while U.S. Treasury yields rose and equities ended mixed. Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows as investors added $1.047 billion to funds after $512.9 million of inflows the week prior, according to LSEG Lipper. This marks nine straight weeks of inflows. <img src=”https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/19228117/thumbnail” width=”100%” alt=”chart visualization” /> High-yield continued to show

A proposal to help solve California’s property insurance crisis would tap the bond markets and could involve billions of dollars in debt issuance. The debt would be issued through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. Assembly Bill 2996 authored by Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, would help stabilize the insurance marketplace by bolstering the

August saw an increase in supply for the eighth consecutive month as pent-up demand and front-loaded issuance led issuers to tap the capital markets, leading to the highest monthly total volume for August on record. August’s volume reached $49.174 billion in 873 issues, up 25% from $39.33 billion in 827 issues in 2023. August’s total

Fitch Ratings revised the outlook to positive from negative on $1.2 billion in private-activity bonds issued to pay for Los Angeles World Airport’s people mover project. Fitch also affirmed the BB-plus rating on the two series of senior lien revenue bonds issued through the California Municipal Finance Authority for LINXS, the consortium of private companies

The South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank’s revenue bonds were upgraded to Aa2 from Aa3 by Moody’s Ratings, following a change in the rating agency’s methodology. It was one of 225 credits Moody’s placed on review for possible upgrade July 25 when it released a revised rating methodology for “certain debt instruments supported by a pledge

Municipals were little changed Friday ahead of the holiday weekend as U.S. Treasuries lost ground while stocks rallied. Triple-A yields closed the week little changed while USTs saw yields rise three to five basis points. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Friday was at 63%, the three-year at 64%, the five-year at 65%, the 10-year at 69%

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said in a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in August that inflation has been cooling to the point where the central bank is willing to cut the Federal Funds Rate for the first time in four years. Bloomberg News Inflation continued to show signs of easing in the Federal Reserve’s

A business group filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the constitutionality of a 2021 Texas law that punishes banks and other financial firms for “boycotting” the fossil fuel industry. The case, brought by the American Sustainable Business Council against Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court in Austin, claims the law

The tax-exempt bond-funded march of the Villages retirement development in Florida continues next week with an unrated $163 million land development bond. Senior manager Jefferies and co-manager Morgan Stanley tentatively plan to price the deal Sept. 10 for The Village Community Development District No. 15 (City of Wildwood, Florida) special assessment revenue bonds, series 2024.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen last week signed into law a package of bills that includes caps on spending authority for local cities and counties. Their signing follows a concerted push by Pillen to pass property tax reform by calling a special session of the legislature on July 25.  The governor’s plan originally was to secure

Chicago plans to bring $1.003 billion of tax-exempt bonds to market Wednesday for O’Hare International Airport, part one of a three-phase financing plan for 2024. Interest on the $563.9 million of general airport senior lien revenue bonds, Series 2024A, is subject to the alternative minimum tax. The $440 million of general airport senior lien revenue

A class-action lawsuit filed Monday by Austin, Texas, property taxpayers against the city seeks the elimination of $187 million in property tax revenue allocated in the 2024 tax year for a light-rail project. The litigation is the latest salvo in a legal battle over the ability of the Austin Transit Partnership, a nonprofit corporation created

The nation’s largest children’s hospital has hit a rough financial patch, leading to two bond rating downgrades and plans to cut nearly 1,000 jobs, while it eyes a return to the municipal bond market. Ratings for Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital were cut one notch to AA-minus by Fitch Ratings in July and Aug. 19 by

Municipals were steady Monday as U.S. Treasuries were slightly weaker and equities ended mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Monday was at 62%, the three-year at 65%, the five-year at 66%, the 10-year at 71% and the 30-year at 87%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m. EST read. ICE Data Services had the two-year

Junk-rated Pennsylvania nonprofit regional healthcare system Tower Health plans to exchange outstanding debt and issue new bonds to help bring about its turnaround. Tower Health plans to issue, through the Berks County Municipal Authority, $1.335 billion of revenue bonds. The hospital operator plans to exchange $1.178 billion of debt for new bonds. Reading Hospital in