State of New Jersey

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.

"I'm thrilled to have that opportunity to join the team," Patrick McCoy says. "It's a very important project with regional implications. To be part of that team is going to be very exciting."

The rating agency cited progress on long-term fiscal stability and budgeting in its decision.

Last year the university's investment portfolio grew by 47%, a factor contributing to the university's triple-A ratings.

The upgrade to A-minus from BBB-plus "reflects what we view as material improvement in the state's structural deficit and near-term liquidity," S&P said.

Gov. Phil Murphy proposes to make an additional $1.3 billion deposit into the state’s Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund.

Moody's said the upgrade reflects continuing strong revenue and liquidity trends, completion of a debt-reduction program and increased pension contributions.

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.

A $3.7 billion transfer from the general fund would cover $2.5 billion for retiring and defeasing state debt, and $1.2 billion to backstop capital construction projects.

Regina Egea, president of the Garden State Initiative, analyzes New Jersey's fiscal landscape, including the proposed state budget, unfunded pension liability and deficit borrowing. Paul Burton hosts. (20 minutes)

Dynamics at play in New Jersey include the pandemic, an election year, massive borrowing, significant federal aid and a major pension liability problem.

In their state of the state addresses, the two governors discussed bringing in more revenues.

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.

Garden State revenues increased in November based on recently enacted tax increases, but analysts say a sustained fiscal rebound hinges on progress confronting the COVID-19 pandemic.

A supply/demand imbalance allowed New Jersey and Massachusetts to reprice to lower yields while the beleaguered New York MTA will head back to the Fed for liquidity.

The strong demand amid a dearth of new municipal issuance by states and a reach for yield also allowed New Jersey to skip a planned taxable portion and officials announced it would not need to access the Fed's Municipal Liquidity Facility.

Municipals were steady to stronger ahead of $11.5 billion of supply as requests for new municipal bond identifiers surged almost 40% last month.

Municipals firmed Friday, with yields falling by as much as two basis points, as coronavirus threats grow and a flight-to-safety resumes.

The $4.3 billion deal will test the state's low bond ratings — punctuated by another downgrade — against the municipal market's continuing demand for paper.