News and Information from Bond Buyer

Apr. 7, 2015 Southwest: Plain/Insured GO Yield Curve* State Ratings One-Year Five-Year 10-Year 30-Year Arizona Aa3/AA+/NR 0.24 1.39 2.23 3.12 Arkansas Aa1/AA/NR 0.19 1.27 2.02 2.9 Colorado Aa1/AA/NR 0.21 1.34 2.11 3.02 Kansas Aa1/AA+/NR 0.19 1.32 2.1 2.98 New Mexico Aaa/AA+/NR 0.19 1.29 2.02 2.91 Oklahoma Aa2/AA+/AA+ 0.22 1.35 2.13 3.02 Texas Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.21 1.29 2.06 2.96 Utah Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.19 1.22 1.93 2.8

4/6/2015 3/30/2015 State Amount ($000s) Iss Amount ($000s) Chg in Amt ($000s) Arizona 3 $47,255 7 $280,245 -$232,990 Arkansas 7 97,610 2 3,670 93,940 Colorado 1 250,000 0 0 250,000 Kansas 8 108,260 8 557,855 -449,595 New Mexico 1 16,540 0 0 16,540 Oklahoma 17 39,160 17 26,970 12,190 Texas 50 1,828,444 36 831,129 997,315 Utah 0 0 3 259,835 -259,835

Former Massachusetts undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation Barbara Anthony joined Pioneer Institute as a consultant and senior fellow in health care.

Government

Moody's Investors Service April 6 stripped Illinois' North Chicago School District No. 187 of its investment grade rating as the district struggles with property tax valuation declines and operating deficits.

Rhode Island's Supreme Court has disbarred former House of Representatives Speaker Gordon Fox, who pleaded guilty last month to federal corruption charges.

Nine large public pension funds, including those from New York and Connecticut, have asked the SEC to strengthen the disclosure of corporate board diversity.

With traditional transportation funds running short, the North Texas Tollway Authority has become the de facto highway builder in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The flagship Dallas North Tollway is the spine of a system that extends into five counties. With about $6.3 billion of first-tier debt, NTTA carries ratings of A-minus from Standard & Poor's and A2 from Moody's Investors Service. About $1 billion of second-tier debt is rated a notch lower. Maintaining those ratings while managing explosive growth remains a constant challenge for the system.

Newly issued Treasury securities held in stripped form increased about $2.385 billion in March to a total of $212.505 billion, the Bureau of the Public Debt reported Thursday.

Recent news signals continued trouble for Atlantic City, N.J., according to Moody's Investors Service.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds finished stronger on Monday, traders said, as yields on some maturities fell by as much as two basis points. Meanwhile, a new survey showed that credit analysts have named public pensions as the most important issue facing the market today.

A San Francisco-based airline's April Fool's joke triggered a disclosure notice on EMMA; the trustee for bonds issued for the airport in Branson, Mo. Wanted to be sure bondholders new that Virgin America was just kidding about its plans to serve Branson.

The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed on April 6 to hear the state's appeal of a Superior Court ruling that sided with unions who sued Gov. Chris Christie after he stripped $1.6 billion of pension contributions from the budget.

Citi finished the first quarter as the top underwriter, edging out Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Public Financial Management ranked first in all financial advisor categories, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

The municipal bond insurance industry showed continued growth in the first quarter of 2015, as insured penetration rose to 5.8%, a sizeable uptick from the 4.3% of long-term bond deals wrapped by insurance in the first quarter a year ago.

Despite the bankruptcy of its current operator, the Indiana Toll Road continues to show the benefits of privatization, as does the new $5.7 billion bid for the road, Wells Fargo says in a new report.

Chicago voters head to the polls to pick their next mayor Tuesday after a seven-week runoff contest where the city's fiscal ills have taken center stage in an election in which neither candidate is willing to talk about property tax increases.

The federal government will run out of money for transportation and other infrastructure projects in late July or August, roughly two months later than expected, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Thursday.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual ISM Non-Manufacturing Feb.: 56.9 March: 56.5 March: 56.5

The municipal advisory business has exploded over the past 30 years, as economic, regulatory, and technological developments have combined to create a bigger business that is increasingly dominated by firms focused mostly on MA services.