Washoe County plans to price $20.5 million of revenue bonds Tuesday to finance a minor league baseball stadium in Reno. The senior-lien car rental fee revenue bonds, secured by a 2% local car rental tax, received an underlying BBB rating from Standard & Poor’s Monday.The debt service coverage is relatively low, though it can sustain a 20% revenue drop, according to the agency. “If pledged revenues perform strongly and thus provide very strong debt service coverage, however, the rating could be raised,” analyst Ian Carroll said in a news release.Standard & Poor’s will provide the only underlying rating for the senior-lien bonds, said John Sherman, Washoe County’s director of finance. The county plans to insure the bonds, though the provider had not been chosen at midweek.The ballpark is slated to open in downtown Reno in 2009 as home to a Triple-A level minor league team — the Tucson Sidewinders — that presently plays in Tucson.The bond issue stems from a three-party deal that involves the county, the Reno Redevelopment Agency, and the team’s owners.The ownership group will also purchase a private placement of about $10 million of unrated, subordinate-lien bonds backed by the same tax.The county selected UBS Securities LLC to be underwriter through a request for proposals process, Sherman said. Public Financial Management and Hobbs, Ong and Associates Inc. are Washoe County’s co-financial advisers.
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Despite higher yields, muni to UST ratios remain rich. Ratios look "progressively richer" moving into the five- to 10-year part on the curve, with the 10-year spot "still far more attractive in taxables versus tax-exempts," J.P. Morgan said.
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The growing federal debt level may pressure lawmakers to retract or reduce the tax-exemption for munis to generate revenue, some market participants argue.
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It's a time of change, challenge and opportunity in the infrastructure and P3 space, Patrick Harder said.
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The meeting was attended by trade organizations, MSRB board leadership, Finance Committee members and MSRB senior staff.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is asking for an additional $9 billion for this year in hopes they don't run out of funds in August as they're currently slated to.
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The SEC won its case against Richard Ganci and Richard Tortora of Capital Markets Advisors over conflicts of interest present in their fee arrangement in connection to a $119 million offering for the City of Rochester, New York.
April 17