Joyful Investor

With 2023 municipal bond issuance of $59 billion, Texas wrested the title of top volume state from long-time debt behemoths New York and California. The debt, which was sold by Texas state agencies, cities, counties, schools, and others, and accounted for 15.5% of nationwide issuance, lifted the Lone Star State to the number one ranking

Medford, Oregon-based hospital nonprofit Asante Health had its A-plus rating, with negative outlook, affirmed by Fitch Ratings at year-end as it works toward completion of a new building at its flagship hospital. Fitch said in a report Tuesday that it maintained the negative outlook, first assigned in January, because “Asante continues to record weakened operational

Illinois saw an uptick in its fiscal fortunes in the past fiscal year, one of the few times the state’s net position has improved since that figure swung from black to red in to red in 2002. The net position includes tax collections and government services and measures the state’s assets relative to its total

Without the money to expand a key artery, Indiana transportation officials are pursuing what they say is an innovative plan to increase the road’s capacity without widening it. The Indiana Department of Transportation’s FlexRoad project spans a 12-mile stretch of the combined Interstate 80 and 94 from I-65 in northwest Indiana across the border to

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green unveiled last week a proposed $19.2 billion supplemental budget and the results of an oversubscribed $750 million general obligation bond sale. In his proposed budget, Green shifted some capital improvement spending from the general fund to bond funding, pointing to ongoing costs from the Aug. 8 Maui wildfire. Revenue expectations also

The Riverside County Transportation Commission, California, won a Fitch Ratings upgrade for a $152.2 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act senior loan. Fitch lifted the rating on the TIFIA debt to BBB-plus from BBB-minus. The rating outlook is stable. The funding supports a managed lane project on Interstate 15 in a 15-mile stretch through

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s proposed $136.6 billion 2024-2026 biennium budget focuses on ways to continue the state’s economic rebound and provides substantial new funds for education and infrastructure. The Democratic governor’s budget proposal will be debated by the Republican-dominated General Assembly when it reconvenes on Jan. 2. Beshear’s plan, which he calls “Forward, Together,” would

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has been given the Israel Bonds Leadership Award for the state’s financial support of the Jewish community and the State of Israel. Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague presented the award to Patronis during Israel Bonds Prime Minister’s Circle Gala in Boca Raton on Dec. 18. At the ceremony, Patronis announced

Arizona’s Water Infrastructure Financing Authority will begin a solicitation process next year for projects to boost the parched state’s water supply using information gleaned from a query it sent out this fall. The agency, which oversees $1 billion the state legislature in 2022 appropriated over three years for water augmentation, received 28 responses to its

Florida’s unemployment rate inched up to 2.9% in November from 2.8% in October, Florida Commerce reported on Friday. Florida’s jobless rate was 0.8 percentage point lower than the 3.7% national rate in November, the 37th straight month the state’s unemployment rate remained below that of the nation as a whole. The state’s overall workforce continued

Cities and states saw pension liabilities rise in fiscal 2022 amid negative market returns even as they significantly boosted contributions with the support of federal stimulus aid. Those are the findings of a new white paper, “State and Local Pension Funds 2022,” which reviews the performance of 648 pension funds making up 90% of all

News of the $68 billion budget deficit projected for California in fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24 raised alarm bells. But several state budget watchers say longer-term trends are less worrying. Though S&P Global Ratings revised the state’s outlook to stable from positive Friday, the rating agency has said the state remains solidly in the double-A

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said the central bank should begin to reduce interest rates — though not immediately — offering a softer pushback against widespread market expectations of early 2024 cuts than some of his peers. “It’s important that we start to move rates down,” Harker said Wednesday in a local