Bonds

Chicago Public Schools laid out a proposed $9.3 billion fiscal 2022 budget that directs $707 million towards capital and spends down about $1 billion of the district’s $2.6 billion of federal relief to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 raises spending by about $900 million

The high level of incarceration in the U.S., especially among Americans of color and indigenous people, constrains the labor market and the economy’s ability to reach its full potential, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said. “Incarceration is a drag on our ability achieve our maximum-employment goal,” Bostic said Tuesday at the start

Municipals were little changed Tuesday, ignoring another rise in U.S. Treasuries and a weaker stock market, with the focus on the primary which saw deals bumped in repricings. Another day of UST weakness after less-than-stellar auctions and municipals stayed in their own lane. Some participants said without the UST rise in yields, municipal benchmarks likely

Municipals were little changed with a slightly weaker tone outside of 10 years Monday ahead of a larger and diverse primary as the second week of July reinvestment kicks into gear. U.S. Treasuries fluctuated but held mostly steady after midday auctions. The 30-year UST sat just at 2% near the close while triple-A municipal benchmark

White Plains, New York, and the bond insurer for debt the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency issued to build a downtown parking garage are at odds over who is on the hook for a looming $1.7 million bond payment for the facility. ACA Financial Guaranty of nearby Rye insured the bonds. The next payment is

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi on Thursday proposed removing pension cuts from the island’s debt restructuring negotiations, asking legislators instead to deal with the issue in regular budget negotiations. Observers say the move is political and unlikely to help parties come to consensus over the pension issues, and further complicates getting the Plan of Adjustment

Kentucky’s general fund receipts came in $1 billion above projections for fiscal year 2021, the Office of the State Budget Director reported on Friday. General fund receipts rose 10.9% to $12.8 billion for fiscal 2021 from the same period in the previous year, $1 billion above the prior budgeted estimate and the highest annual growth

Wayne County, Michigan, received an upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service this week that pushed the once speculative-grade credit into the single-A category six years after a financial crisis. Moody’s raised the county’s issuer rating and the general obligation and lease rental bonds issued by the Detroit Wayne County Stadium Authority to A3 from Baa1 and

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois and the Chicago Transit Authority won upgrades from Moody’s Investors Service as sales taxes recover and worries about exposure to fallout from the state fade with Illinois on stronger fiscal ground. Both had carried a negative outlook assigned in May 2020 as the pandemic took a toll on sales

U.S. Treasuries pared back gains with yields rising by four to six basis points Friday and stocks rallied to record highs as investors’ concerns over a lull in the economic recovery quieted. Municipal bonds did as they often do on a summer Friday — stayed on the sidelines and awaited the coming week’s larger new-issue

Hawaii lawmakers made changes to bills that would have used COVID-19 federal relief funds to make debt payments and replenish reserves before ending a special session Thursday, which was called to act on the governor’s vetoes. Gov. David Ige announced plans June 21 to veto 28 bills and ultimately vetoed 26 of them by Tuesday’s

Illinois reaped a second rating reward for its improving fiscal condition with its first S&P Global Ratings upgrade in 24 years. The upgrade to BBB from BBB-minus followed a similar move by Moody’s Investors Service last week raising the rating to the same level at Baa2 with a stable outlook. In June, Fitch Ratings moved

Oklahoma’s rebounding economy lifted gross receipts to its Treasury to record territory for the fiscal year and for collections in June, State Treasurer Randy McDaniel reported. Receipts of $14.32 billion during fiscal year 2021, which ended June 30, are the highest on record during any 12-month period in Oklahoma history, McDaniel said. Collections of $1.54

As the White House weighs the potential renomination of Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, officials are discussing the use of openings on the board to reshape the central bank to closer align with administration priorities such as inequality and tighter banking regulations, according to people familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will give the Texas Legislature a chance to restore funding that he eliminated through a veto after Democrats blocked a GOP plan to restrict voting access. In a list of items for consideration in a special session beginning Thursday, Abbott included Article X funding, the budget for the entire Texas Legislature.

Municipals were better on light but strong trading in the secondary, as dealers pushed benchmarks lower with large blocks of high-grades exchanging hands but sales to customers also showed strong interest. U.S. Treasuries helped direct municipals to lower yields as the UST 10-year fell to 1.36% — the lowest since Feb. 24 — and the

With near-record low yields in 2021, high-yield municipals have been the bright spot for returns for investors who took the risks associated with junk-rated debt. As a result, high-yields have been the most sought-after munis and the hardest to find as the credit picture continues to improve for all. High-yield returns are 6.26% so far

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board on Wednesday approved a $10.1 billion budget crafted by the Puerto Rico local government for the first time in the board’s history. “The budget developed jointly by the governor, the legislature, and the Oversight Board is a significant achievement and an important step toward achieving fiscal responsibility and economic stability,”

Michigan drew a second dose of positive rating news in June as S&P Global Rating’s lifted its rating outlook to stable from negative as COVID-19 pandemic fiscal worries fade amid a brighter economic picture. S&P’s action Wednesday came as lawmakers approved the school aid portion of the state’s fiscal 2022 budget, and it followed Fitch

The Port of Los Angeles received an outlook lift to positive from S&P Global Ratings as it marks the highest level of traffic experienced in the history of the 114-year-old port. S&P rates the port AA. The action affects $665.7 million of bonds, all fixed rate, with no commercial paper draws outstanding, according to the

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will begin an environmental review on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, a first step in the permitting process for Dominion Energy’s 2.6-gigawatt commercial wind project. U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the review on a tour of the port on Thursday for the project, which is

The nonfarm payrolls number beat expectations, but full employment is still about a year away, according to economists, suggesting the Federal Reserve will take its time in removing accommodation. “The June jobs report does not rise to the level of ‘substantial further progress’ on the labor market that the Fed wants to see before removing

Despite taking a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s prudent approach to financial operations along with its financial flexibility has kept the state’s ratings in the top tier. Fitch Ratings late Thursday affirmed its AAA rating on Virginia’s $1.1 billion of general obligation bonds as well as on the state’s long-term issuer default rating. Additionally,

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board on Friday filed suit against a law that would scuttle the negotiated plan of adjustment for the central government debt. The board filed an adversary proceeding in the Title III bankruptcy in the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico against the governor and legislative leaders in defense of the negotiated

Texas’ largest county is shoring up its faltering $2.5 billion flood control bond program with a new trust fund after discovering a shortfall in federal support. In a marathon meeting last week, the Harris County Commissioners approved creation of the Flood Resilience Trust to assure that all 2018 bond projects will be built without delays

Municipals were firmer by a basis point Thursday amid light secondary trading and a quiet primary as the second half of the year and July reinvestment kicks off while broader markets mostly held steady ahead of Friday’s employment numbers. Inflows came in below $1 billion for the first time since the start of June, with

Challenges for U.S. mass transit will continue as providers face new and developing credit risks including continued transition to remote work, according to S&P Global Ratings. “Potential displacement of ridership bases, a persistent shift toward remote work, hybrid work schedules and online shopping pose the greatest risks to traditional public transit operating models in general,”

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board said local legislative approval would not be needed for enactment by the central government Plan of Adjustment, which, if true, would clear what observers consider the biggest remaining obstacle. The board laid out this position and several others in a Tuesday afternoon response to objections to its Disclosure Statement, filed

Chaos surrounds the vote count in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary with the city’s Board of Elections on Tuesday night acknowledging a major error in its ranked-choice tally under the new voting system. The board said it mixed in 135,000 test ballots with numbers it released earlier in the day. Those numbers had showed Kathryn

Illinois won a one-notch upgrade Tuesday from Moody’s Investors Service, action that turns the rating tide for a state stung by more than a decade of downgrades that left it one cut away from a speculative grade. Moody’s moved its general obligation and Build Illinois sales tax-backed ratings up one level to Baa2 from Baa3.