Podcasts

Chris Hamel, managing director and head of municipal finance at RBC Capital Markets, discusses why the infrastructure problem in the U.S. is not one of capital but of funding, why P3 has not yet taken off in this country and how it could, how design-build could work well within the muni framework, and issues a call-to-action to the muni industry to come together to advance an infrastructure agenda in a spirited Infrastructure Week discussion with Bond Buyer Northeast regional editor Paul Burton.

Detroit’s “Grand Bargain” strategy leveraging civic foundation support during its 2013 bankruptcy and how this unique approach could be a model for other distressed cities facing major pension burdens is discussed by Howard Husock, vice president for policy research at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Husock speaks with reporter Andrew Coen about his new report “The Pension Grand Bargain: A Reform Model for Cities” and how Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, St. Louis and Buffalo can benefit from Detroit’s plan (1:43). Husock also touches on if galvanizing charities to address pension liabilities can also be achieved at the state level (7:45) and what changes he has noticed in his more than two decades of public policy research (11:48).

Bond Buyer Northeast regional editor Paul Burton, senior markets reporter Chip Barnett and Northeast regional reporter Andrew Coen let loose on the ills of the municipal finance world, including infrastructure underfunding, pension debt, state budget strife and distressed cities.

Brian Fraser, co-chair of the litigation department at Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP, examines the challenges of distinguishing a loan from a bond and a loan from a security, in a chat with Bond Buyer northeast regional editor Paul Burton.

In the latest Bond Buyer Podcast, Assured Guaranty's president and CEO Dominic Frederico and senior managing director of public finance Bill Hogan join Bond Buyer markets reporter Aaron Weitzman for a wide-ranging conversation on the evolving landscape of bond insurance and challenges facing the industry today, including a lively, critical take on the handling of the Puerto Rican debt crisis and its potential implications for the municipal market (beginning at 11:30).

The impact on state transportation funding from the new $305 billion Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act is explored by Matt Click from the infrastructure solutions firm HNTB with Northeast regional reporter Andrew Coen. Click has nearly 20 years’ experience advising states on tolling, transportation finance, congestion pricing and priced managed lanes.

Manhattan Institute senior fellows James Copland and Steven Malanga skewer states and municipalities for mismanaging public pensions in a no-holds-barred roundtable with Bond Buyer Northeast regional editor Paul Burton.

Sean Carney, director and head of municipal strategy at BlackRock, looks at possible ripple effects from market participants who have not worked during a rising rate environment, the recent popularity of taxable bonds and the supply/demand dynamics that are taking place in the municipal marketplace in a chat with Bond Buyer reporter Aaron Weitzman.

Ronnie Lowenstein, director of the watchdog Independent Budget Office, and Bond Buyer Northeast regional editor Paul Burton take a good, hard look at New York City’s economy and variables that could affect municipal budgets.

Wells Fargo Securities senior analyst Randy Gerardes examines sports stadium financing, against the convoluted backdrop of NFL franchise relocation, with Bond Buyer Northeast regional editor Paul Burton.