News and Information from Bond Buyer

Rhode Island has repaid funds the state borrowed to cover unemployment insurance benefit payments, Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced in Cranston on Nov. 10.

Standard & Poor's dropped its outlook on Vermont's AA-plus general obligation rating to stable from positive on Monday, citing lagging economic growth.

Many states have largely stabilized their retiree health care expenses through a combination of benefit changes and moderating health insurance costs, but these liabilities remain high for some states, particularly those that fully pay for teacher benefits.

State revolving fund (SRF) and leveraged municipal loan pool (MLP) programs remain highly rated with strong performance, according to a Fitch Ratings report.

U.S. public finance upgrades continued to outpace downgrades in the third quarter, but at a lower rate than previously, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said in a report published Monday.

Jefferson County, Ala., voters sent all five commission incumbents back into office even after they allowed sewer rates to go up.

The recent passage of a measure to build California's rainy day fund while also limiting the amount of reserves school districts can keep is a positive for the state and a negative for districts, Moody's Investors Service said.

New Mexico will use $169 million of bond authority granted by the voters in the Nov. 4 election for senior citizens centers, libraries and schools.

Joining a year-end rush to market, the Texas Transportation Commission plans to offer $1.4 billion of top-rated general obligation bonds in December.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it revised the outlook on Vermont's general obligation (GO) bonds to stable from positive, and affirmed its AA-plus rating on the bonds.

Virginia lawmakers likely will reverse a plan to kill a $50 million transfer to the state's transportation fund that imperiled a proposed $100 million road bond issue.

The Treasury Department Monday auctioned $26 billion of three-year notes with a 7/8% coupon at a 0.998% yield, a price of 99.637993.

Weak long-term economic growth won't necessarily translate into lower interest rates, according to private-sector forecasts, despite the Congressional Budget Office and many Federal Open Market Committee members' belief, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter.

This is the time to invest in high-grade bonds in the secondary, but market participants have to act soon, traders said.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.025% high rate, up from 0.020% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.060% high rate, unchanged from 0.060% the week before.

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority has issued nearly $600 million this year, after its recent $58 million sale of mortgage finance program bonds.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $40 billion of four-week discount bills Wednesday.

While taxable century bond deals have recently gained in popularity among select issuers, they are less likely to become a household name in the municipal market due to their longer-than-usual lifespan and limited liquidity in the secondary market, muni experts said.

Consumers' view of inflation expectations were steady in October, with buyers expecting 3.0% inflation over the course of one year and three years, according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.