Florida

Michael Rinaldi, head of local government ratings at Fitch, talks with Chip Barnett about the murky financial picture after the move by Gov. Ron DeSantis to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District after Disney Co. said it plans to fight to repeal the new “Don’t Say Gay” law. (12 minutes)

While the outlook revision reflects the view there is a one-in-three chance RCID's credit profile could be positively or negatively impacted, future events remain unclear, said S&P's Christian Richards.

Total April volume was $34.329 billion in 729 deals versus $37.105 billion in 1,124 issues a year earlier.

Credits affected include $766 million of outstanding ad valorem tax bonds, rated AA-minus and $79 million of outstanding utilities revenue and refunding bonds, rated A.

Outstanding governmental debt totals approximately $719 million and utility debt stands at roughly $200 million, according to Fitch Ratings.

The the $389.495 million of tax-exempts were sold late last month to help fund construction of the Broward County Convention Center Headquarters Hotel.

High gas prices usually have the biggest effect on leisure travel because drivers take fewer or shorter trips, Fitch Ratings says.

S&P revised the outlook on Miami Beach to stable from negative and affirmed the AA-minus rating on the city’s resort tax revenue bonds.

Moody’s said MEAG's upgrade reflects the upgrade of Florida’s JEA Electric Enterprise ratings on Monday. JEA is to be a major customer of MEAG's nuclear units.

Moody's said its rating upgrades reflect the Jacksonville, Florida, utility's sound financial performance and governance changes.

Nora Wittstruck, senior director and environmental social and governance sector lead at S&P Global Ratings, talks with Chip Barnett about climate change, sea level rise and how municipalities’ mitigation efforts affect South Florida and other parts of the U.S. (19 minutes)

Fitch said it expects UT to maintain a strong operating performance that could warrant an upgrade in the next two years.

Ten states, includeing five in the Southeast, pre-pandemic employment levels in January, according to Fitch Ratings. In an update, the U.S. Labor Department reported Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.3% in February.

Florida's economy is stabilizing from the COVID-19 pandemic, but nature and man may bring other threats to its recovery.

A report from CreditSights says risks will increase for coastal issuers of municipal bonds with increased flooding at high tides and during storms.

Overall volume in the Southeast rose 1.8% last year even as taxable issuance plunged and refunding deals shriveled up.

S&P said the action reflects the Orlando International Airport's financial resilience during the pandemic and its strong passenger recovery trends.

Cancellations due to fears of omicron are putting a damper on cruise bookings, says Fitch's Emma Griffith, who adds there is still a lot of pent-up demand.

A $10.85 million private placement of special assessment revenue bonds for the Ojus Sanitary Sewer Special Benefit Area will foster economic development.

Over the next 10 years, the Division of Bond Finance forecasts about $1.8 billion of net tax-supported debt will be issued, mostly for transportation projects.