Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico said it would issue general obligation bonds in its upcoming sale, shifting from earlier indications that the debt would be backed by sales tax revenue.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Puerto Rico's general obligation and related debt to the speculative grade BB from the investment grade BBB-minus on Tuesday morning.

Fitch Ratings said it has downgraded the ratings for the commonwealth of Puerto Rico general obligation bonds to BB from BBB-minus.

Barclays Capital, RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley will be lead managers for Puerto Rico's upcoming general obligation bond issue, the commonwealth said in an announcement Tuesday.

The Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico Tuesday announced that the commonwealth of Puerto Rico expects to issue general obligation bonds in the near term to refinance certain outstanding obligations and address the government's liquidity needs and will detail its plans in a webcast Feb. 18.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to Ba2 from Baa3, increasing the amount of the territory’s speculative grade debt to $63.3 billion.

With new issuance at dismal levels and investors gearing up for a three-day weekend, participants in the municipal bond market this week are focusing their attention on the impact of a second downgrade on Puerto Rico debt.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday delivered a two-notch downgrade to Puerto Rico's general obligation bonds, a deeper, more far reaching cut than the one imposed by Standard & Poor's three days earlier.

Puerto Rico's planned debt issue may still find demand among mutual funds after the commonwealth was cut to a junk grade by Standard & Poor's, even though some fund managers are restricted from buying speculative paper.

The Puerto Rico government may emphasize cutting spending in its effort to balance its budget, said its budget director Carlos Rivas.

Puerto Rico's governor, vowing to repair the island's damaged credit after Standard & Poor's cut its ratings to junk, said the commonwealth is going ahead with a bond sale in the next few weeks.

Congressional and Treasury sources said Puerto Rico won't get direct financial help in the wake of its downgrade.

Puerto Rico bonds were trading on pace with levels seen in recent weeks, market participants said, lending credibility to the argument by some that a downgrade to junk had been long-anticipated by the municipal market.

Standard & Poor's downgraded Puerto Rico's general obligation bonds to a speculative rating, pointing to what it said was the commonwealth's limited liquidity.

Puerto Rico's plan to adopt a balanced budget may not be enough to sway the ratings agencies considering downgrading the commonwealth.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said Friday that he planned to propose a budget with little or no deficit for the coming fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty and National Public Finance Guarantee have sufficient capital positions to withstand a potential downgrade of Puerto Rico bonds, Standard & Poor's said in a note Wednesday.

Puerto Rico general obligations have outperformed AAA-rated GOs as municipal bonds have rallied this month.

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chair Sheila Bair has been named a director at Banco Santander, whose subsidiary is active in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico unemployment rate jumped to 15.4% in December from 14.7% in November.