Puerto Rico

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts is concerned that a district court ruling on Puerto Rico highway bonds could be a landmark change for the worse when it comes to how investors view revenue bonds.

The Puerto Rico Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 would implement some of the recommendations made by a congressional task force as well as provisions left out of disaster relief legislation, according to the two Republican senators who offered it.

April’s General Fund collection was 15.7% higher than that of April 2017.

The effort by bondholders to work together is seen as a "positive development," though their plan was quickly rejected by the government.

The consensual plan for $4.2 billion of Government Development Bank bonds amounts to repayment of 55 cents on the dollar.

GAO says Congress should consider giving SEC penalty authority over issuers, stripping Puerto Rico's triple-tax exemption,and expanding investor protection.

Bondholders will have to rely on the Oversight Board or the courts for debt service, analysts said.

Puerto Rico would have to have a vibrant economy and a stable government that is fiscally sound, said Rep. Rob Bishop.

A probe into possible wrongdoing prompted Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to jettison five staffers, weakening his administration at a critical juncture in the commonwealth's debt restructuring.

The Oversight Board is close to the governor on debt even as they publicly disagree over austerity policies.

The fiscal Oversight Board estimates $62 billion of disaster relief funding from federal and private sources will boost the island’s economy for the next few years.

The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico approved the plan by a 6-1 vote Thursday after negotiations with the commonwealth’s government failed.

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s new fiscal turnaround plan for the commonwealth may more than double debt payments to bondholders compared with earlier proposals.

The latest turnaround plan projects a surplus of $6.7 billion over the next six years before debt payments, about $400 million more than Gov. Ricardo Rossello estimated earlier this month.

German Ramirez of HJ Sims talks from Puerto Rico about the situation on the island, and discusses PREPA, the Commonwealth’s fiscal plan, the future of public-private alliances and what it all means for bondholders. Chip Barnett hosts.

Matosantos' ownership of renewable energy businesses on the island is said to conflict with responsibility overseeing PREPA.

General obligation holders said that the sales taxes supporting COFINA are resources that the territory's constitution promises to them.

Eleven states and five cities will also receive a share of the CDBG disaster grants, with the biggest amount of $4.7 billion going to Texas for the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

People involved in the $3.5 billion sale received notices that there would be no enforcement action.

The board may choose to approve its own version of the plan by April 20, setting up a legal and political fight for control of the Puerto Rico government.