New Jersey Economic Development Authority

S&P, Fitch and Moody's have all raised their ratings on the Garden State's general obligation bonds within the last week.

Fitch Ratings raised New Jersey's issuer and general obligation bond ratings just days after Moody's Investors Service upgraded its ratings on the Garden State ahead of next week's s $1.1 billion bond sale by the state Economic Development Authority.

Gov. Phil Murphy is behind the push for the Garden State to develop offshore wind power, ramping up from 3,500 megawatts by 2030 to 11,000 megawatts by 2040.

Bonds defeased include state GOs and securities from the New Jersey Building Authority and the Economic Development Authority.

The agency cited “the appropriation of the full actuarial pension contribution in fiscal 2022 for the first time in 26 years" coupled with improved reserves.

The new corporate tax incentive legislation includes an annual cap for a key component, in an effort not to repeat the mistakes of its predecessor program.

It was inevitable that muni yields would need to rise somewhat as the UST 10-year broke above 1%, however participants said the supply/demand imbalance will keep munis from rising as quickly as Treasuries. More than $1 billion inflows reported.

The new-issue calendar builds from almost nothing to $2.4 billion in the first week of the New Year, with deals ranging from education to taxables to social bonds on tap for investors.

The deal is rated BBB-plus by Fitch Ratings, Baa1 by Moody’s Investors Service and BBB by S&P Global Ratings.

The region's bond issuers sold $55.4 billion of municipal debt during the first half of 2020, a 21.1% increase from the same period in 2019.