Chip Barnett

Royden Durham and Tony Tanner, portfolio managers at the Aquila group of funds, talk with Chip Barnett about what's special about Kentucky and Arizona -- what's the same and what's different -- within their municipal bond markets. (18 minutes)

Endorsed by Donald Trump, Landry has fought against ESG precepts and has had several run-ins with the state Bond Commission over firearms and abortion issues.

In January 2022, mobile sports betting went live. With a 51% tax rate on gross gaming revenues, New York, Rhode Island and New Hampshire have the highest gaming taxes in the nation.

Additionally, the Florida Treasury will follow suit and invest $25 million in Israeli bonds, said Jimmy Patronis, the state's chief financial officer.

"Further declines could weaken New York's tax revenue from the securities industry and have repercussions for our state and city budgets," said New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

The largest authorization approved at the October meeting was the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency's $750 million of revenue bonds.

Peter Lam has served as bond counsel to state and local issuers for public and privately placed bond issuances.

Mesirow's public finance group will collaborate with the firm's institutional sales and trading team to offer clients defeasance and cash-flow management for their portfolios.

"It's important to take this opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Japanese leaders and employers," said Gov. Roy Cooper.

The nature of municipal bonds is to help people, says Peter Hayes, "I really like that it's public purpose."

"After more than 36 years as investor and leader, Peter has decided the timing is right to begin his own retirement next year," said Rich Kushel, senior managing director at BlackRock.

"I am excited to lead the team through what will be an exciting period of growth in public finance," Anjali Sharma said.

The upgrade was spurred by improving ridership as well as increased financial flexibility, said S&P credit analyst Joseph Pezzimenti.

"That puts us well on our way to hitting our ambitious goal of $25 billion awarded to MWBEs by 2026," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

"We were pleased to achieve such strong results, especially in light of the recent volatile market conditions," said Philadelphia Treasurer Jacqueline Dunn.

Ed Koch, the late mayor of New York, used to ask residents "How am I doin' ?" The Citizens Budget Commission plans to do that this fall with a survey.

The downgrade reflects the school district's weakened financial position, Moody's Investors Service said, adding that while the district's operating deficits have moderated significantly, they will persist over the next fiscal year.

The upgrade reflects progress and ongoing development at Hudson Yards that has led to increased payments in lieu of taxes, said S&P credit analyst Felix Winnekens.

"People are just kind of sitting on their hands and being careful because MMD is raising yields every day and people don't know which way this is heading," said John Farawell of Roosevelt & Cross.

S&P said the outlook revision reflects "our view that Pennsylvania has continued to make progress toward structural budgetary balance." Earlier this month, Moody's revised its outlook on the state to positive.