Bonds

St. Louis County, Missouri, takes competitive bids Wednesday on $114 million of special obligation bonds that will provide its long-stalled share of public financing for the expansion and renovation of the downtown convention center. The bonds mature from 2034 to 2047. Columbia Capital Management LLC is advising the county. The bonds are rated AA rating

FHN Financial Capital Markets will establish its first Midwest banking presence in Chicago, led by Melanie Shaker, and put banking boots on the ground in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the hiring of Rene Moreno. Shaker will join the firm’s existing Chicago office that houses sales professionals on May 24, and Moreno started Monday in what marks

Municipals were little changed and U.S. Treasuries were mixed in what amounted to a relatively quiet day for fixed-income markets, while equities were mixed to end the day. Municipals took more of a wait-and-see approach ahead of a calendar filled with general obligation bonds from credits across the spectrum. Municipal to UST ratios were still

New York City got some good news just as it prepares to come to market with more than $1 billion of general obligation bonds next week. Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on the city’s AA-minus rated GOs to positive from stable citing improved revenue performance as the city sees a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester backed raising interest rates by half percentage points at the central bank’s next two policy meetings in order to tamp down surging inflation.  “Unless there are some big surprises, I expect it to be appropriate to raise the policy rate another 50 basis points at each of

As gas prices hit a fresh record high Friday, some analysts wonder when they will begin to impact the credit quality of transportation assets, like toll roads and airlines. Not now, S&P Global Ratings said in a report, but that could change if high prices stick around. “From a historical perspective, volatile fuel prices have

Illinois’ rosier near-term fiscal landscape and state bond rating momentum helped lift the ratings of public transit agencies and the state’s public universities and more than $5 billion of rated debt.   Earlier this month, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority’s $1.7 billion of general obligation bonds to Aa3 from A1 due

California Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out an $18 billion inflation-relief package during his May budget revision that included $400 rebates to car owners as well as expanded rental assistance and help covering past-due utility bills. The state budget boasts a $97.5 billion surplus, according to the governor’s estimates, but lawmakers also face spending restrictions from

A reversal of U.S. Treasuries added more selling pressure on municipals Friday with another day of cheaper trading in the secondary leading to cuts in triple-A scales after a week of underperformance to taxables that pushed ratios firmly above 100% out long. Municipal triple-A benchmark yields rose up to five basis points in another rough

Illinois-based Advocate Aurora Health and North Carolina-based Atrium Health plan to merge, which would create the fifth largest not-for-profit health system by revenues nationally. The hospital chains would create a joint operating system under the name Advocate Health that would operate 67 hospitals across Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama with combined

Municipals were mixed Thursday as the last of largest new-issues priced in the primary led by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, while U.S. Treasuries caught a risk-on trade and equities rebounded near the close after larger losses earlier in the session in another volatile day. Triple-A benchmark yields rose up to

S&P Global Ratings lifted the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority out from junk territory, upgrading the authority to BBB-minus from BB-plus. The hotel taxes that repay its Soldier Field bonds are on the mend and the agency is no longer putting efforts to spare Chicago’s city government from covering gaps between its tax revenue and debt

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority pulled in 4.5% more revenues in the first half of its fiscal year compared to its projections while expenditures also increased. PRASA’s larger-than-expected revenues were $24.2 million higher than the projection for July 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2021, the first half of its fiscal 2022 year, while

Municipal triple-A yield curves were steady Tuesday while the focus was on the primary, which kicked into gear with several large new issues out of New York, Oregon and Wisconsin pricing. U.S. Treasuries ended a bit better while munis were little changed on the day and the moves pushed muni to UST ratios higher. Ratios

The implementation process for a Texas law aimed at financial company “boycotts” of the fossil fuel industry led a state municipal bond issuer to drop three underwriters from a recent deal. Meanwhile, another big energy producing state, Oklahoma, enacted a similar law this week. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs removed Barclays, RBC

The Federal Reserve warned of deteriorating liquidity conditions across key financial markets amid rising risks from the war in Ukraine, monetary tightening and high inflation in a semi-annual report published Monday. “According to some measures, market liquidity has declined since late 2021 in the markets for recently-issued U.S. cash Treasury securities and for equity index

The Port of Los Angeles notched its second busiest April in its history even as COVID-19 lockdowns continued in parts of China. The lockdowns that went into effect six weeks ago have not resulted in a dramatic change in the number of vessels or cargo leaving China, POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka said Friday during

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot chose Bally’s Corporation from the three short-listed candidates to hold the city’s first casino license, with the promise of a $40 million upfront payment and then a $200 million annual tax jackpot. The selection of the Bally’s $1.7 billion casino and resort development proposal marks a milestone in the city’s decades-long

A coalition of former transportation officials, advocates and union leaders wrote a letter to California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins urging them to release voter-approved bond funds to move the state’s high-speed rail project forward. The letter is the latest in the skirmish over California’s embattled high-speed rail project,

Municipals were weaker amid more selling pressure to close out the week, U.S. Treasury yields rose with the 10-year sitting firmly above 3% and equities ended in the red. Triple-A muni benchmarks were cut up to four basis points while UST yields rose five to 10 basis points five years and out. Muni to UST