Bonds

Chicago took initial steps Thursday toward what may shape up to be a long-term $8.5 billion program to replace lead-based water service lines in the city. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, joined by members of her water management and health departments, put forth several modest programs with limited costs and said it was too early to talk

Any authority for New York City to borrow for operating budget gaps related to COVID-19 should come only with oversight from a reactivated New York State Fiscal Control Board, the watchdog Citizens Budget Commission said. City leaders have better options to balance this year’s budget, according to CBC President Andrew Rein. “Borrowing should be a

Legislators concerned about New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s borrowing plans have new ammunition to fight it, as the state’s Office of Legislative Services tax revenue projection was $1.37 billion more than the Department of Treasury said. The projection covers collections through the end of June, and is the largest gap ever between estimates from OLS

Municipals were little changed on Tuesday and off to a slow start post the Labor Day holiday. Triple-A benchmarks showed steady levels from last week while trade volume rermained light ahead of the week’s $7 billion new-issue slate. With the “fall fling” about to occur with municipal issuance, yields have reset back to levels of

While municipalities will clearly have more budgetary flexibility thanks to a recently enacted New York law that allows municipalities to extend rollover periods on bond anticipation notes by two years, its impact on long-term issuance will be determined largely by the length the COVID-19 pandemic. “When the economy can recover will dictate what happens with

Rhode Island’s Department of Transportation is weighing a controversial plan to break up its main Kennedy Plaza bus hub in downtown Providence and create smaller hubs around the city. Bond money that voters approved six years ago would fund the project. A rendering of the proposed bus hub in the Providence Innovation and Design District.Rhode

Austin will price $271 million of debt next week after losing one of its three triple-A ratings. Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday downgraded the city’s general obligation bonds to Aa1 with a stable outlook, citing “high leverage and fixed costs attributable to the city’s pension and other post employee benefit plans.” Moody’s had rated Austin

A big decline in the unemployment rate in August is “worth celebrating,” but could take the pressure off lawmakers to help the economy, according to economists. The unemployment rate fell to 8.4% from 10.2% the month prior, while nonfarm payrolls climbed by 1.4 million, according to the Labor Department. Economists polled by IFR Markets expected

Municipals were little changed on Friday ahead of the holiday-shortened trading week. Markets are closed Monday in observance of Labor Day. Munis yields remained steady along most of the AAA GO scale as the day’s trading action was focused on California and New York paper. Primary marketIHS Ipreo estimates supply for the upcoming week at

Orange County, Florida, officials pulled the plug on a major bond-financed expansion of the second-largest convention center in the country amid a five-month-long, double-digit plunge in tourist tax collections, which support the plan. Since the pandemic-induced downturn, the county had used tourist development tax revenues to continue designing the $605 million capital improvement plan at

Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez nominated Efran Paredes Maisonet to be the new executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority on Friday. The governor made the nomination to the authority’s board of directors, which normally approves the governor’s nomination. PREPA power plant in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico Paredes Maisonet has been serving as interim

Texas began its 2021 fiscal year on Sept. 1 with the prospect of $1 billion of budget cuts amid lost revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the shortfall for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31 was not as bad as expected, according to state Comptroller Glenn Hegar. “Yearly revenues were slightly ahead of

Thomas Johnsen, 67, a retired California municipal advisor and former National Association of Municipal Advisors board member, died Tuesday. Johnsen had battled cancer off and on for 10 years, but succumbed to sepsis, an infection that attacks the immune system. He retired in 2018 after nearly 31 years with Irvine-based Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates. He

Inflows into municipal bond mutual funds slowed to the lowest level since last July, with Refinitiv Lipper data showing investors put $139.364 million into the funds in the latest reporting week. Muni funds have been on a winning streak since May 13, with most week’s seeing over $1 billion of cash flowing into the funds.

Economic activity will likely remain suppressed, especially while Americans are waiting for more and sufficient support fiscally, according to president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Charles Evans. “More adequate, fiscal relief is needed for us to get through this and it could be late 2022 before we reach pre-pandemic economic levels,” he said

New Jersey local governments gain new bonding capabilities to offset COVID-19-related revenue losses after Gov. Phil Murphy signed a revised municipal borrowing bill that addressed his previous debt concerns when he vetoed an earlier version of the measure. Murphy signed the legislation Monday three weeks after issuing a conditional veto noting opposition to the proposed

Florida upsized its taxable bond sale by $1 billion and came to market Wednesday with a $3.5 billion deal that will help bolster the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. California’s $2.5 billion general obligation bond deal was also priced in the primary giving buyers a wide variety of paper to choose from. “You cannot deny that

During World War II, more than 80 million Americans purchased Series-E War Bonds to support their country and their troops in the fight for liberty and freedom. The war was an expensive effort, both in terms of the loss of human life and financial costs. Through the purchase of War Bonds, individual investors contributed the

Municipals started out the month with a firm tone, ending the day little changed amid an avalanche of new issuance. Yields rose by as much as one basis point on the long end Tuesday, looking at some AAA scales. August saw the largest intra-month upward yield moves since April as the market backed off extreme