News and Information from Bond Buyer

Friday, July 15 Issuer St Description Amount

CALIFORNIA

ALABAMA

A tax reform plan released by Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, would replace the corporate income tax with a consumption tax and lower individual tax rates while maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will be coming to market on Tuesday with its first competitive deals in at least 15 years when it puts up for bid two sales tax and assessment refinancing transactions totaling about $344.2 million.

Rep. Peter DeFazio’s bill to impose a 0.03% tax on secondary market trades of stocks, bonds and derivatives would include tax-exempt as well as corporate bonds, a spokeswoman for the Democrat from Oregon said on Thursday.

Government

In the week ended July 14, the weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index rose two basis points to 3.74% from 3.72% in the previous week. The BB40 Index is based on the price of 40 long-term bonds.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority performed twice as badly as budgeted in the first 10 months of the fiscal year.

The New York City Economic Development Corp. on Thursday picked the Lowline team to create the world’s first underground park on the Lower East Side, using solar technology to transform the abandoned Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal under Delancey Street into a one-acre cultural space set to be opened to the public in 2021.

Illinois will spend $2.5 billion more then it expects to collect in the coming months, putting it on course to end December with a bill backlog of $10 billion, the state comptroller warned.

Municipal bonds closed weaker on Thursday, according to traders, as tax-exempts followed Treasuries lower.

A recent study’s findings that the share of households holding municipal debt fell considerably over a 24-year period with a corresponding condensing of ownership in the hands of the wealthiest may lead to political questions related to muni debt, the study’s authors conclude.

The Michigan State Building Authority is joining the parade of borrowers capitalizing on the market's attractive rates with plans to sell about $660 million of mostly refunding bonds next week.

Miami Beach will begin preliminary negotiations with a group led by France-based Alstom to build a modern light rail streetcar estimated to cost $400 million in its famed South Beach district.

An additional $500 billion of federal funding for public infrastructure over the next 10 years would stimulate the U.S. economy and create millions of new jobs, the Center for American Progress said in calling for a comprehensive national program.

New York’s Nassau County saw an $8.1 million increase in sales tax revenue for the first half of the year and is on pace to exceed budget projections, according to Comptroller George Maragos.

Assessed property values in California are growing robustly in the state’s larger counties, which bodes well for the state budget and local bonds backed by property taxes.

Municipal bonds were weaker at midday, according to traders, as tax-exempts followed Treasuries lower.

The Federal Reserve must exercise patience while the Brexit fallout settles, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Lockhart said Thursday.