Special Program Root Tag

Municipal bonds on the rise

"What we saw in 2023 was a large surge of issuers coming back into the single-family bond market," said Kurt van Kuller of Sit Investment Associates.

Austin Transit Partnership's ability under Texas law to seek expedited court validation for bonds to finance light rail is the subject of an April 25 hearing.

"Now that the first phase of Miami Worldcenter is complete and the second phase is underway, our team is issuing bonds backed by the TIF package, which will help defray the cost of the improvements made in the district," the development team said.

The University of Chicago's Harris School Policy Innovation Challenge is a "Shark Tank"-style competition in which eight teams took on Chicago's pension problem.

D.A. Davidson Director of Wealth Management Research James Ragan will review and analyze the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Gov. Spencer Cox wrapped up action on hundreds of bills passed by lawmakers, including measures to boost or limit bond issuance and potentially put some outstanding debt at risk.

"What we're doing is just being prudent managing the risk," said Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens.

The Washington refunding deal is built on an extraordinary optional redemption of Build America Bonds despite criticism from investors who hold them.

This spring brings a bevy of school referendums in the Midwest. With inflation and property tax fatigue, voters may be increasingly reluctant to say yes.

In celebration of Women's History Month, The Bond Buyer invited one of the icons of public finance, Suzanne Shank, to talk about the importance of women in the municipal bond business. She reveals what led her into the municipal bond business and discusses her firm's continuing commitment to munis and strategy for growth. 

Laws banning banks from underwriting municipal bond deals because of their fossil fuel or firearm policies dramatically boosted underwriting spreads, a business group's study said.

The state Supreme Court ruled that prevailing wage rules for public projects don't apply to private entities that borrow using tax-exempt conduit bonds.

"Insurance rationing by the leading insurers is becoming the mechanism by which climate risk is starting to impact municipal issuers," said Triet Nguyen, vice president of strategic data operations at DPC Data.

The Municipal Bonds for America Coalition, headed by the Bond Dealers of America, is putting its lobbying work into overdrive as tax reform begins to show its head as a major legislative priority.

Gov. Tina Kotek sent a letter to transportation commissioners asking them to scrap a tolling plan for Portland-area highways that was seven years in the making.

Since Gov. Ron DeSantis took office in 2019, Florida has paid down $5.3 billion of state debt, or about 25% of the Sunshine State's total debt.

The American High-Speed Rail Act has seen "some initial interest from Republican lawmakers – I'm working hard to get them on board too," said bill sponsor Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.

Rural hospitals and clinics are closing in Wisconsin while Democratic Gov. Tony Evers battles the state's Republican legislature over Medicaid expansion.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $957 million.