Bonds

Jackson County, Missouri, hits the market with a $260 million special obligation issue that will wrap up financing for a new jail complex long in the works that was chosen as the best option to deal with overcrowding and other public safety and mental health treatment goals. The bonds are expected to price as soon

Ohio-based ProMedica Health System slid deeper into speculative grade territory amid bruising balance sheet losses tied mostly to its senior care business. Fitch Ratings cut the system’s rating two notches to BB-minus from BB-plus on $1.8 billion of outstanding bonds sold in 2015 and 2018 and warned of the potential for a further hit by

UBS will pay $850,000 to a Texas public school district in a settlement over the bank’s inability to underwrite bonds under a state law prohibiting government contracts with companies that “boycott” the fossil fuel industry, the state attorney general announced Friday. The settlement involves a $18.6 million Normangee Independent School District competitive bond sale the

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s tax relief package is one step closer to passage despite slumping revenue figures. On Tuesday, the state Senate Ways and Means Committee unanimously passed a $55.8 billion budget for fiscal ’24, forwarding along to the Democratic-controlled chamber a $575 million tax cut plan that preserves many of the proposals the governor

Illinois trimmed its revenue estimates for the current fiscal year and must absorb higher social services expenses next year, leaving less room to maneuver as lawmakers finalize a supplemental spending package and new budget. They’re entering the homestretch of their spring session that’s slated to end May 19 with passage of a fiscal 2024 budget

Municipals were weaker in spots to end the week, while U.S. Treasuries and equities saw losses on continued concerns over the debt limit impasse and questions over the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves. Municipals mostly stayed in their own lane throughout the week but UST weakness Friday seeped into the secondary Friday, moving yields higher

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said “no” to revenue anticipation notes and a tax increase, but “yes” to climate and mental health bond proposals in the May budget revisions he presented Friday. Newsom stressed emphatically that the state has no plans to issue revenue anticipation notes despite expectations that $49 billion in anticipated revenues won’t come

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board will not be forced to turn over documents that may have provided a clearer picture of finances pertinent to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed an appeals court decision, rejecting journalist group Centro de Periodismo Investigativo’s (CPI) request for Puerto Rico Oversight Board papers.

Municipals remained little changed as fund outflows receded, the last of large deals of the week priced and Silicon Valley Bank muni holdings lists began circulating the Street for liquidation. U.S. Treasuries were firmer out long and equities ended mixed. Triple-A yields were little changed while UST yields fell on economic data. Lists of the

Banks and underwriters are beginning to respond to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent enforcement actions on limited offering disclosures by requiring investor letters and for some, forgoing the exemption even when they qualify. That’s according to panelists at the SEC’s Municipal Securities Disclosure Conference on Wednesday, where panelists took the time to discuss the

A major sticking point in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy is the discrepancy over the size of bondholders’ claim, with the Oversight Board and bond parties $6.5 billion apart. The board, in a filing Tuesday, placed the value at 24% of principal and pre-petition interest due at time of the bankruptcy petition in

Colorado lawmakers wrapped up their legislative session this week with the last-minute passage of a plan to ease a big tax hit for property owners due to rising assessed values, with the state stepping in to replace some revenue lost by local governments and schools. Gov. Jared Polis and members of the Democrat-controlled legislature last

Several members of Congress introduced a bill to permanently raise the rum cover rate supporting some U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico bonds. The rum cover, a tax on rum sold in the 50 states, provides a revenue stream supporting USVI matching fund bonds and Puerto Rico Infrastructure Finance Authority rum bonds. The rate had

Stressing the hardship a dismissal would bring, all sides in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy were urged by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain to enter into mediation in an attempt to reach a consensual plan. Bondholders are widely opposed to the Oversight Board’s current proposed plan of adjustment, she noted, and if

Massachusetts state senators intend to leave Gov. Maura Healey’s $748 billion tax cut package intact in their redrafted budget proposal despite falling state revenues. The fate of Healey’s tax-relief plan, which features a mix of tax rate cuts and policy changes including an expanded child and family tax credit, and was a centerpiece of her

The public health care system in Texas’ biggest county is seeking $2.5 billion of bond authorization to address critical capacity problems at its two hospitals, which serve a fast-growing population. The Harris Health System Board of Trustees unanimously agreed late last month to ask Harris County commissioners to place the bonds on the November ballot,

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he thinks the U.S. central bank can still achieve a soft landing, with inflation returning to the Fed’s 2% target without triggering a significant downturn. “Yes, the economy could go into recession, but that’s not the base case,” Bullard told the Economic Club of Minneapolis

New Jersey faces the uncertain economic conditions ahead with historic reserves, a trimmed-down debt profile, and a slew of upgrades from the major bond rating agencies. The state has received six upgrades in a little over a year, including four in April alone, one from each of the four major rating agencies. The Kroll Bond

The Seattle region’s Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority has racked up another series of low-interest loans from the federal government, totaling $327 million. So far, Sound Transit, a light rail, commuter rail and express bus service serving the Seattle metropolitan region, is the largest beneficiary of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau,

Highland Park, Michigan, would get a $20 million lifeline under an appropriation Senate Democrats put in their version of the state budget to help pay down a $24 million water and sewer debt the city has warned could drive it into bankruptcy. The city just north of Detroit owes the Great Lakes Water Authority $24