State of Hawaii

A Moody's Ratings upgrade means Hawaii DOT's airport division is headed to market with across-the-board double-A ratings.

The Aloha State received three rating affirmations as it prepares to sell $750 million of taxable general obligation bonds.

"There's a reason Guam is investment grade," said Muni Credit News Publisher Joseph Krist.

Infrastructure, housing and recovery efforts from the deadly Maui wildfires in August were a focal point of Hawaii Gov. Josh Green's State of the State speech.

Some general fund spending will be shifted to bonds to help the state meet priorities like housing and healthcare, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green announced.

Moody's credited generally sound fiscal practices, good governance and federal aid with the likelihood that Maui County and the state would retain their current credit ratings.

Newly-elected Gov. Josh Green outlined the proposals during his State of the State speech on Monday.

These would be the territory's first general obligation bond issuance since 2019.

The high-grade muni scales saw cuts of up to four basis points in a continued selloff Monday as the market faces a robust slate of new issues.

Both S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service lifted their outlooks, citing a rebound from pandemic-driven budget pressures.