Fitch Ratings on Wednesday revised New York’s general obligation rating outlook to stable from positive, citing a deteriorating economic and financial environment. It affirmed the state’s AA-minus rating. The outlook change affects about $3 billion of outstanding GO debt. Fitch also revised the rating outlook to stable from positive on about $45 billion of other state-supported debt. Although New York has taken proactive steps to address projected budget gaps, the agency said in a press release that it does not believe the state’s rating is likely to improve within two years — which is what a positive outlook indicates — “particularly given the outsized role the troubled financial services industry plays in the state’s economy and revenue system.” New York derives about 20% of its revenue from the financial sector, which has been hammered in recent months. Gov. David Paterson told CNBC this week that the state’s combined budget deficit for the current year and next fiscal year could hit $12.5 billion.
-
April's "poor performance" pushed munis further into negative territory, but "despite the poor start to the year, they may still end the year positive," said Cooper Howard, a fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab.
5h ago -
The driving force behind the trend is the overall strength of the economy, according to Fitch Ratings' Michael Rinaldi. Revenue sources for municipalities, such as sales and property taxes, are doing very well.
5h ago -
Syncora and GoldenTree Asset Management want an accounting of what happened to PREPA net revenues.
6h ago -
The MSRB's move to a one-minute reporting standard was questioned in a House hearing Tuesday in the context of regulation that could go too far.
6h ago -
"It'll be very interesting to see when an event happens or the market get sloppy, what the secondary market does," said a sellside panelist at a Bond Buyer market outlook panel in Florida.
9h ago -
Delivery delays for Boeing planes are impacting airports, with Southwest Airlines recently announcing it is pulling out or reducing flights at some facilities.
May 7