News and Information from Bond Buyer

In contrast to the calendar of the past week, which featured a variety attention-getting deals, the upcoming calendar features one deal in particular that will be the talk of the market – California’s $2.7 billion of general obligation bonds. The deal marks the second time this year that the Golden State has issued bonds in that amount.

East Cleveland’s plan to avert bankruptcy by merging with neighbor Cleveland is back to the drawing board after terms were rejected by the Cleveland City Council.

S&P Global Ratings said it has lowered its general obligation rating on the city of Petersburg, Va. three notches to BB from BBB.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will soon introduce the first two of several educational courses it plans to offer as part of its new learning management system designed to keep participants up to date on the municipal market and in compliance with their continuing education requirements.

The default of some unrated nonprofit project bonds in Michigan and subsequent struggle to recover funds highlights the frustration bondholders sometimes feel in working with trustees, who are tasked with acting as the agents of the investors in distressed and default situations.

Virginia may take money from budgeted salaries and $378 million from reserves, said Gov. Terry McAuliffe, to tackle a portion of the $1.48 billion budget shortfall projected in fiscal years 2016 to 2018.

Almost all the state legislators who voted for a higher state gasoline tax last year won their 2016 primary races, according to an analysis of eight states that enacted laws to increase their state motor fuel taxes in 2015.

Illinois’ budget crisis and political gridlock have taken a toll on the state’s public colleges and universities, S&P Global Ratings said in a report recapping the credit erosion and warning of a tough road ahead for the schools.

Congress must work to improve Puerto Rico’s treatment under Medicaid as well as to expand access to tax credits and other federal benefits for the commonwealth, the secretaries of the Treasury Department and Department of Health and Human Services said in a letter on Friday.

Fifty years ago, Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp. issued a $1.6 million bond for a now-defunct biblical school. Since then it has handled roughly $7.4 billion in debt.

A California appeals court's ruling upholding Marin County's pension changes is a positive development for the credit of not only the county, but also California and its other local governments, Moody's Investors Service said Thursday.

Top-shelf municipal bonds were mixed on Friday, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said recent economic data shows the case for raising interest rates had "strengthened," but that there was no pre-set course for rate hikes.

The Illinois Finance Authority heads into the market Tuesday with $500 million of top-rated state revolving fund bonds to pave the way for more low cost loans for local clean water and drinking water projects.

A top New Jersey lawmaker is pressing Gov. Chris Christie to release details on a controversial 2011 tax settlement agreement forged between the Republican governor and Atlantic City casinos previously owned by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Attempts to boil down state government fiscal performance into bite size chunks can be Quixotic exercises, fraught with data problems and ripe for misinterpretation.

Rosy views of the economy were put forth by Federal Reserve Bank presidents Loretta Mester of Cleveland and James Bullard of St. Louis, speaking on television from the Jackson Hole, Wyo., summit Friday.

The University of Michigan's final August consumer sentiment index reading was 89.8, compared to the preliminary August 90.4 and the final July 90.0, according to market sources.

Economic indicators show the case for raising the federal funds target rate has "strengthened" recently, but there is no preset course for hikes, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said Friday.

The municipal bond market is in waiting mode on Friday as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gets set to take the stage this morning at the central bank's meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Aug. 26, 2016 Far West: Plain/Insured GO Yield Curve* State Ratings One-Year Five-Year 10-Year 30-Year Alaska Aa2/AA+/AA+ 0.6 1.09 1.72 2.44 California Aa3/AA-/A+ 0.46 0.85 1.52 2.25 Hawaii Aa2/AA/AA 0.49 0.91 1.55 2.27 Idaho Aa1/AA+/AA+ 0.46 0.94 1.58 2.3 Montana Aa1/AA/AA+ 0.46 0.93 1.59 2.32 Nevada Aa2/AA/AA+ 0.5 0.96 1.58 2.33 Oregon Aa1/AA+/AA+ 0.48 0.88 1.45 2.16 Washington Aa1/AA+/AA+ 0.49 0.94 1.62 2.37 Wyoming NR/AAA/NR 0.46 0.9 1.5 2.21