News and Information from Bond Buyer

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Alaska to Aa1 from Aaa.

Ohio State University hits the market with its first sale under a $1 billion borrowing program that will use an offering statement style in the same vein as corporate shelf registration that will allow it to sell multiple issues with the same documentation.

Top quality municipal bonds were steady to weaker at mid-session, traders said as a raft of new issue supply hit the market.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $55 billion of four-week bills at a 0.295% high yield, a price of 99.977056.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $20 billion of 364-day bills at a 0.660% high yield, a price of 99.332667.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its financial strength and long-term counterparty credit ratings on MGIC Investment Corp.'s core operating subsidiaries to BBB from BB-plus.

Unless the United States Congress acts to modify Puerto Rico’s required debt payments, Puerto Rico won’t make the full May bond payment, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said.

Texas service sector activity "continued to reflect expansion in February," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index slipped to 9.7 from 10.0.

Understanding your culture is a priority for the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority. While some doubt FINRA can do this, there are steps your firm can take to demonstrate adherence to rules and regulations that have an impact on the objective "indicators" of FINRA's cultural assessment.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual Construction Spending Dec.: +0.6% Jan.: +0.4% Jan.: +1.5% ISM Manufacturing Jan.: 48.2 Feb.: 48.6 Feb.: 49.5

Construction spending increased 1.5% in January, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, and is 10.4% above the January 2015 level.

The overall economy grew for the eighty-first straight time, while the manufacturing sector contracted for the fifth month in a row, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday.

Lisa Washburn, the new chair of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, wants NFMA this year to become more proactive in collaborative industry efforts to improve municipal bond disclosure and address changes in the municipal market.

The Chicago Teachers Union threatened to strike as soon as next month over Chicago Public Schools' plan to phase out its coverage of teachers' pension payments.

Municipal bond traders are set to see the first of the week's healthy new issue supply come to market on Tuesday.

Massachusetts intends to come to market with a $1.1 billion general obligation offering, the second-largest this week.

Axis Trading Solutions, Inc. said trading will resume on MuniAxis, under a new partnership with RBC Capital Markets LLC, in the first quarter of this year.

Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded the state of Alaska's general obligation rating to Aa1 from Aaa and assigned a Aa1 rating to the state's general obligation bonds, Series 2016A.

Mayer Brown partner David Narefsky chats with Bond Buyer Northeast regional editor Paul Burton about public-private partnership variables, including the FAST Act, where presidential candidates stand, red flags to watch and what’s significant in the P3 pipeline.

2/29/2016 2/22/2016 State Amount ($000s) Iss Amount ($000s) Chg in Amt ($000s) Arizona 1 $50,000 2 188,315 -$138,315 Arkansas 9 58,455 6 58,450 5 Colorado 3 84,845 1 9,845 75,000 Kansas 6 79,950 4 74,425 5,525 New Mexico 1 7,750 0 0 7,750 Oklahoma 18 135,810 7 30,675 105,135 Texas 32 577,539 42 1,460,980 -883,441 Utah 2 37,185 2 51,775 -14,590