News and Information from Bond Buyer

Louisiana, grappling with a $1.6 billion budget deficit that could hit its colleges and universities, has already cut state higher education funding by more than all but one other state, a study found.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds closed mixed on Wednesday, according to traders, with yields remaining unchanged to rising by as much as two basis points. Meanwhile, the market absorbed more supply, led off by the pricing of the Salt River Project’s $917.95 million of revenue bonds.

“Don’t fear the Fed” and looming interest rate increases, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research told municipal analysts meeting here Wednesday

Moody's Investors Service said it has upgraded the town of Fishkill, N.Y.'s general obligation rating to Baa1 from Baa3, affecting the town's $6.95 million of rated GO debt outstanding.

Arguing time is the enemy, Chicago attorneys successfully argued for a fast-track hearing on a pair of lawsuits challenging pension reforms that took effect in January.

For investors with risk tolerance, uninsured senior COFINA bonds are attractive compared with other island debt as well as COFINA’s own subordinate debt, Barclays analysts said.

Chicago officials are scrambling to salvage short-term credit lines and liquidity arrangements after Moody's Investors Service downgraded its bonds, which triggered events in the city's credit contracts allowing banks to demand as much as $2.2 billion.

The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion of 10-year notes with a 2 1/8% coupon at a 2.237% high yield, a price of 99.001405.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leaders plan June vote on six-year highway bill. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recommends a path for sustainable highway funding.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds were steady at mid-session, according to traders.

Labor market conditions "declined modestly while momentum remained high" as the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) widened to negative 0.252 in March from negative 0.215 in March, according to the Bank.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced on May 12 a proposal to put a $250 million affordable housing general obligation bond on the November ballot.

Texas lawmakers approved a bill that would allow the state Comptroller to seek higher returns and slightly higher risks in investing most of the state's $7 billion rainy day fund.

Businesses expect inflation to grow at a 1.9% rate in the coming year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's business inflation expectations survey, released Wednesday, up from 1.7% in last month's survey.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual Import Prices March: -0.2% April: +0.3% April: -0.3% Export Prices March: +0.1% April: +0.1% April: -0.7% Retail Sales March: +1.1% April: +0.2% April: unch ex-Autos March: +0.7% April: +0.5% April: +0.1% Business Inventories Feb.: +0.2% March: +0.2% March: +0.1%

Against a backdrop of urgency and uncertainty, transportation advocates are offering alternative revenue streams for New York's MTA.

Business inventories were up 0.1% to $1.786 trillion in March, while sales were 0.4% higher at $1.310 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The municipal bond market is prepared to see more supply on Wednesday led by the pricing of the Salt River Project's $887 million of revenue bonds.

Wednesday, May 13 Issuer St Description Amount