News and Information from Bond Buyer

Issuers in California and Texas accounted for more than one-third of S&P Global’s public finance ratings upgrades last year.

The president of Puerto Rico’s main opposition party said financial disclosures reported in The Bond Buyer may disqualify some members of the federal Oversight Board and staff.

Government

Hatch wants to overturn federal rules that paved the way for state and local governments to set up retirement savings plans for non-governmental workers who no access to such plans.

The Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco is expected to run an operating deficit after it opens later this year that may be borne at least in part by taxpayers.

Monthly sales tax revenue registered the second-largest gain of the fiscal year in February, rising 4.4% above the same month last year to $2.4 billion.

St. Paul, Minn.’s new investor relations website is making its debut in tandem with a competitive sale of $43 million of general obligation and revenue-backed green bonds set for Wednesday.

Top-quality municipal bonds ended narrowly mixed on Tuesday, traders said, as the hefty California and New York City sales were priced for institutions.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has released criteria that will generally require the top five firms submitting to certain of the self-regulator’s systems to participate in Securities and Exchange Commission-mandated business continuity and disaster recovery plan testing.

Consumer credit increased by $8.8 billion in January to $3.774 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

Marrien Neilson, the former BOK Financial employee the SEC said was responsible for concealing some of Christopher Brogdon's securities fraud, agreed to a first of a kind ban on her acting as an indenture trustee or dissemination agent for municipal bonds as well as a $55,000 payment to settle the charges.

Utah lawmakers are expected to approve $1 billion of new road bonds before session expires Thursday.

State intervention and a settlement of outstanding casino tax refunds drove an S&P Global Ratings upgrade of Atlantic City’s to CCC, still deep in junk-bond territory.

The popularity of the National Basketball Association’s champion Cleveland Cavaliers may not extend to Cuyahoga County’s proposal to sell $140 million of bonds to update the team’s 22-year-old arena.

More downgrades are in New Jersey’s future as its liabilities continue to mount, according to Municipal Market Analytics.

The Glades Correctional Development Corp. in south-central Florida shorted its March 1 debt-service payment, the trustee said in a notice, as the date for a taxable bond exchange approaches due to an IRS ruling.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $24 billion of three-year notes with a 1 5/8% coupon at a 1.630% high yield, a price of 99.985419.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Clark County School District, Nev. by three notches to BBB-plus saying spending will outpace revenues.

Top-quality municipal bonds were mixed at midday, traders said, as the hefty California and New York City sales were priced for institutions.

Erin Stewart, one of country's youngest female mayors, tells The Bond Buyer's Paul Burton how New Britain, Conn., erased a $30 million deficit, earned bond rating upgrades and undertook several economic development initiatives. She also reacts to Gov. Dannel Malloy's budget proposal.