Bonds

Puerto Rico government agencies and authorities completed their approval of extending LUMA Energy’s operation of the island’s electrical transmission and distribution system Wednesday. LUMA took over the system in June 2021 based on a short-term supplementary agreement that was supposed to be replaced by a 15-year Operating and Maintenance agreement on Thursday. However, that agreement

As the effect of the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act continues to infiltrate into efforts to rebuild the nation’s roads and bridges and stand up an electric vehicle support network, a certain amount of confusion may be restricting the flow of some of the funds. “Well intended new requirements such as the expansion of Buy

Municipals were firmer Tuesday in a constructive secondary market while two large new-issues from the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts led the primary. U.S. Treasuries were weaker, and equities ended down. Triple-A benchmark yields fell up to seven basis points on the short end, depending on the scale, while

Anchorage, Alaska, received two rating downgrades ahead of plans to sell $105 million in general obligation bonds competitively on Dec. 6. Fitch Ratings downgraded the city’s issuer default rating to AA from AA-plus Nov. 22,maintaining a stable outlook; and S&P Global Ratings downgraded the city to AA from AA-plus Nov. 23, maintaining a negative outlook.

Municipals were better to start the week in constructive secondary trading while U.S. Treasuries pared back earlier gains to close the session mixed and equities ended in the red. Triple-A yields fell three to five basis points along the curve while UST were little changed to weaker by a basis point on the short end.

Baird has wooed three senior public finance bankers away from Oppenheimer & Co. as it continues to add strength to its municipal banking bench. The new hires — Chris Morse, Steve Simpson and Carlo Fitti — will work out of the employee-owned firm’s Philadelphia and Boston offices. The trio bring expertise in credit analysis with

Municipals saw healthy secondary trading on the short-end of the yield curve Wednesday, while U.S. Treasuries saw larger gains out long and equities improved after the Federal Open Market Committee minutes showed an expectation of slowing rate hikes. The improved tone continued Wednesday, with triple-A muni yields falling up to nine basis points on the

The U.S. higher education sector is pressured by declining enrollment and inflation-adjusted tuition revenue declines, according to Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. In the current fiscal year median enrollment is expected to decline by 0.4% for private universities and by 1.3% for public ones compared to the preceding fiscal year, said Moody’s Senior Credit

As revenue projections inch toward pre-pandemic norms, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans on more capital spending heading into new year, according to its recently proposed fiscal 2023 budget. “We are laser-focused on building a future that benefits all users of our facilities and supports the entire region’s economy,” Port Authority

A non-profit Texas corporation that defaulted on bonds sold to purchase two senior living facilities in Oklahoma aims to sell those assets through its recent bankruptcy filing. Leading Life Senior Living, Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Nov. 18 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, sold $30.275 million of tax-exempt

Increased activity at Houston airports led S&P Global Ratings to boost certain ratings by a notch as the city eyes debt issuance for the three-airport system in the first quarter of 2023. The rating agency raised the system’s subordinate-lien general airport revenue bond rating to A-plus from A with a stable outlook affecting about $2.2

Despite a negative return in the latest quarter, New York State’s retirement fund is “built to weather the ups and downs of the markets,” even with an investment environment termed “challenging,” according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The New York State Common Retirement Fund’s estimated value at the end of the second quarter

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders, insurers and the PREPA bond trustee defended their lien on authority revenues in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding. Responding to the Oversight Board’s filing in the lien adversary proceeding, bondholders said their liens extend beyond money in the Sinking Fund and Self-Insurance Fund to revenues generally including future revenues and

Municipals were firmer Tuesday on the short end, while U.S. Treasury yields saw larger gains five years and out. Equities closed in the black as the markets digested more Fedspeak. While Federal Reserve members have continued to emphasize the need to continue tightening, comments from San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly indicated a “pause is

Hawaii Gov. David Ige released a list of $392 million in capital improvement projects Monday that will be paid for with funding approved by lawmakers earlier this fall. The projects — that will be administered by the appropriate state departments — support priorities Ige said he has advocated for during his eight years as governor.

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Monday won final federal approval to launch construction on a global terminal project that is a centerpiece of the airport’s 10-year, $12.1 billion capital plan.   O’Hare is “an absolute powerhouse that in turn makes Chicago and Chicagoland a powerhouse for the American economy,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday when

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a teachers’ union appeal of the Puerto Rico plan of adjustment, rejecting the petition for certiorari Monday morning. The plan of adjustment, which went into effect in March, freezes future accruals under the teachers’ defined retirement benefit plan held by those in the plan prior to August 2014

A battle over an initial installment of bonds to fund a $5 billion, 15-year Oklahoma Turnpike extension project heads for a showdown in the state supreme court.  Oral arguments before the justices are scheduled for Nov. 28, with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) seeking validation of up to $500 million of second senior lien revenue

Municipals were steady to firmer in spots Friday ahead of a holiday-shortened week and a light new-issue calendar. U.S. Treasuries closed out weaker and equities ended the week with small gains. Triple-A yields were little changed to bumped by up to four basis points, depending on the curve, while U.S. Treasuries saw yields rise by

Triple Five, owner of the American Dream mall in New Jersey, has struck a deal with a group of creditors led by JP Morgan that grants the developer a four-year extension on overdue construction debt. The agreement has the potential to ease pressure on $1.1 billion of tax-exempt bond debt taken on separately to finance