Hawaii

Tax-exempt bonds issued for a private hospital system in Honolulu fell further into junk territory with S&P Global Ratings downgrading the bonds to CCC from B-minus.

Far West municipal issuers sold $99.1 billion of debt last year, a 16% increase from 2019.

Hawaii's governor announced that state employees would be furloughed two days a month; the state sold $750 million of GO bonds in October to fund operations.

Oahu's 20-mile rail project could lose $250 million in federal funding if the Federal Transit Administration doesn't grant an extension.

The state is easing a strict quarantine requirement that has left its all-important tourism industry with very few tourists.

Municipal issuers in the Far West sold $38.7 billion in bonds during the first six months of 2020, 8.8% more than they did the year before.

Total municipal CUSIP requests fell in July after three months of increases, according to CUSIP Global Services.

The drop in tourism amid the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a downgrade of Hawaii's ratings by Moody’s Investors Service affecting $9 billion in outstanding debt ahead of the state’s plans to price $900 million of taxable bonds Wednesday.

Municipal bonds were little changed on Monday ahead of this week's new-issue calendar.

Municipal bonds finished out the month on a strong note, with yields dropping by as much as two basis points on Friday.