News and Information from Bond Buyer

"Most states do not expect to be able to keep key roads and bridges to a state of good repair," said David Draine, principal officer, public sector, retirement systems for the Pew Charitable Trusts. 

Once considered as a promising prospect for investors, "green" bonds have been plagued by defaults, a concern for those who study the underlying technologies.

A 2024 Illinois law loosened school bond restrictions, allowing districts to authorize some debt without an election. That caused a backlash in one district.

The top 10 underwriters for the first half of the year brought in more than $203 billion across nearly 2,000 issues.

As always, economists had disparate interpretations of the consumer price index, with none expecting a July rate cut. And tariff questions remain unanswered.

Prices for some bonds issued for Florida's express train have fallen sharply since Friday.

Puerto Rico's disputes with New Fortress Energy, the parent of the island's power plant operator, Genera PR, could spread to PREPA.

The city council voted unanimously to hold a special election on an 11-part GO bond proposition, which will be the largest in the city's history.

With big state incentives and tariff protection, a United Arab Emirates-based aluminum producer has pledged to build the first new U.S. smelter in decades.

The hires "will help us further deepen our relationships," said the firm's head of public finance.

"The muni market seemed to ignore Treasuries [last] week, marching to its own beat," said Birch Creek strategists.

Executive Director Gene Seroka said the port's downstream prospects are unclear as it deals with the "tariff whipsaw effect" from the Trump administration.

"We supported the approved rule change and are extremely disappointed that the MSRB is now proposing to halt the progress it had been making toward full and complete transparency in the municipal securities market," Dimensional Fund Advisors officials said in a letter.

The House Appropriations Committee kicks things off with markups of three infrastructure-related funding bills this week, including transportation.

Tim Ruby has joined Wells Fargo as its healthcare, higher education and not-for-profit division executive. He will be based in Chicago.

The top issuers for the first half of 2025 put out a combined 89 issuances amounting to more than $39 billion in par value.

New York City lawmakers spent big on social services. But the budget still leaves the city exposed to cuts by the Trump administration and congressional GOP. 

New York issuers lead a $9 billion slate.

Some local governments have begun formal assessments about whether electric services to their communities should be municipalized or whether their existing franchise agreements can be updated in their favor.

The negative outlook affects about $1.1 billion in combined GO and lease revenue debt, according to Fitch.