News and Information from Bond Buyer

A King County, Wash. Superior Court judge has struck down a voter-approved ballot measure that would have lowered taxes unless the legislature adopted a new constitutional amendment giving more control of tax increases to voters.

New York City and the MTA deserve high marks for coping with the weekend blizzard and coordinating, said resilience financing expert Alan Rubin.

Additional executive powers are being restored to Flint, Mich.'s mayor in a move backed by Gov. Rick Snyder to help the city deal with its water contamination crisis.

Stock market swings could affect California's credit quality, which is linked to its ability to maintain balanced fiscal operations that are heavily linked to the stock market's performance.

A House panel hearing on a federal oversight board for Puerto Rico has been rescheduled to Feb. 2 as a Republican governor is arguing against a Super Chapter 9 solution for the commonwealth but not ruling out bankruptcy protections for the territory's public authorities.

California cuts road and transit project funding by $754 million over five years as fuel sales tax revenues fall in step with pump prices.

A court’s refusal to block the federal Clean Power Plan rule is a credit negative for big coal-fired generators, cities that issued bonds to finance units, and for coal-dependent states, Moody's Investors Service said.

The University of Utah won a Standard & Poor’s upgrade to AA-plus en route to the bond market with $76 million of bonds.

Atlantic City, N.J. is moving closer to default and a possible bankruptcy after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of a financial rescue package, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Montgomery County, Texas, officials estimate that investors' flight to quality during a severe downturn in the equities and commodities markets helped reduce interest costs on a $112 million bond deal by nearly $27 million.

Texas school bond volume doubled to $2.2 billion in January compared to the same month last year.

Municipals were modestly stronger at mid-session, according to traders, with yields on some top-quality maturities falling by as much as one basis point.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher, as the three-months incurred a 0.305% high rate, up from 0.255% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.415% high rate, up from 0.370% the week before.

Welcome to Muni Minute, a new Bond Buyer weekly video series examining, in 60 seconds, a top story municipal bond market participants should have on their radars for the coming week. In our first installment, we look at this week's planned $875 million Chicago Public Schools general obligation bond sale amid credit rating downgrades, state takeover talk, and an ongoing financial crises that may cost the Board of Education dearly in yield penalties.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $55 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "fell sharply in January," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

Pennsylvania's intercept programs for school districts remain a strong credit feature despite downgrades related to the state's budget impasse, said Janney.

The municipal bond market is looking at a $5.42 billion new issue calendar this week, which consists of $3.82 billion of negotiated deals and $1.60 billion of competitive sales.

Tuesday, January 26 Issuer St Description Amount

Monday, January 25 Issuer St Description Amount