Bonds

The muni bond market grew in the second quarter as ownership by household and exchange-traded funds grew, while U.S. banks and insurers continued to reduce their holdings, the latest Federal Reserve data shows. The face amount of munis outstanding ticked up to $4.129 trillion, a 1.1% increase from the first quarter of this year and

House Republicans are squabbling over legislation that ties keeping the government open past Sept. 30 to legislation that would strengthen voting rules, as state and local governments brace for a possible curtailment of federal funding.  The bill, labeled as the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” adds additional obstacles to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting in

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump shined no new light on the economic and tax policies important to the municipal bond market during their high-stakes debate Tuesday night, though brief mentions of housing, energy policy and tariffs carry modest interest to participants. “The debate was pretty light in general,” said Matt Fabian,

Texas public school districts launched a new school year based in some cases on shaky budgets with depleted reserves as they cope with increasing costs, a state per-pupil allotment that hasn’t risen since 2019, and the expiration of federal pandemic relief funding. Still, the overall credit quality for the more than 300 Texas school districts

Efforts by Muni Pride to align with other public finance affinity groups are reaping dividends for the group, which has grown to more than 100 individuals since its inception in 2019. The California-based national LGBTQ+ networking group will host its next event Oct. 1 in New York City. Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell will offer

Massachusetts’ general obligation bond sale Thursday was the fourth time this year the commonwealth has tapped the municipal bond market. The state treasurer’s office said it was happy with the deal’s performance, although the high supply during a busy week in the primary was evident in the final spreads.  “At this point, you’re at the

Speaking Thursday to the Economic Club of New York, former President Donald Trump proposed the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund to pay for infrastructure projects. “We’ll create America’s own sovereign wealth fund to invest in great national endeavors for the benefit of all of the American people,” Trump said. “Why don’t we have

Louisiana has encountered a problem with its first public-private partnership, with the tolling and full opening of a new Belle Chasse bridge delayed for at least seven months. The bridge was to be fully opened in mid-April, but plans are delayed by subsidence of the newly constructed north and south approaches to the new bridge.

Economic activity was flat or declining across most regions in the U.S. in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book survey of regional contacts. Employment levels were generally flat to up slightly, according to the report released Wednesday. While reports of layoffs were rare, some firms noted cutting shifts and hours, leaving

Texas general fund revenue growth slowed further in fiscal 2024, inching up just 1.1% to $83.78 billion, the state comptroller reported on Tuesday.  Sales taxes, the biggest state-generated revenue source for the Texas budget, brought in $47.16 billion in the fiscal year that ended Saturday, a 1.2% increase from fiscal 2023. All-funds revenue fell 3.6%

Just past the two-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, states have captured an average of 7% of the Biden administration’s signature climate legislation potential funding opportunities. That’s according to an Aug. 13 report from clean energy think tank RMI, which adds that the small number “makes sense” since use of the tax credits that

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

The Colorado Legislature wrapped up a special session Thursday with the passage of a bill to circumvent property tax cut initiatives on the Nov. 5 ballot that troubled the state’s municipal bond market. House Bill 1001 incorporates a deal with Initiative 50 and 108 backers, who agreed to remove the measures from the ballot and

Supporters of a national infrastructure bank — and a bill by Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., that would establish one — pitched the idea to dozens of delegates and other politicos last week at the Democratic National Convention, to build on what they say is growing momentum for the issue. Members of the National Infrastructure Bank

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

Bondholders of a chunk of unrated debt floated for the troubled American Dream megamall in New Jersey will see a partial payday next week when the borrower makes up some of the overdue interest payments. The $287 million of grant revenue bonds, which are backed by New Jersey economic development grants based on the mall’s

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

Nevada would get its first toll road under a public-private partnership floated by the city of Sparks. State lawmakers would need to approve the move, as Nevada law currently bans fees on roads that are part of P3s. The city manager of Sparks, located just east of Reno, has proposed a 13-mile toll road that

The end is near for a 52-year public-private partnership that built a managed lanes toll road project in the Houston area, with the Texas Department of Transportation announcing Friday the state intends to take over the project’s operation in October. The move came after financing for the P3 termination was cleared Thursday by the Texas

The Warren County Board of Education in Kentucky approved issuance of $87 million in general obligation bonds last week. These will be among the first GO bonds issued by a Kentucky school district since the state government passed a law allowing them to sell GOs in April, to give school districts a method to address