Capital markets

"Higher education is going to be facing continued challenges in the near term," said Tom Kozlik, managing director at Hilltop Securities.

A new deal with Microsoft may help fill the void left by the underperformance of a Wisconsin incentive deal to lure Foxconn to the village of Mount Pleasant.

The City Colleges of Chicago is planning to issue $201 million in unlimited tax GO refunding bonds, bolstered by an upgrade and a new positive rating outlook.

Moody's Investors Service revised its outlook to positive from stable and affirmed its Aa1 issuer and general obligation unlimited tax bond ratings on the city.

Moody's, which last rated the state triple-A in 1979, pointed to an economy that's "poised for diversification and growth."

Anne Marie Pippin, associate director in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Office of Financial Technology, weighs the forces shaping the industry's future.

The outlook revision from negative comes as the school system prepares to tap more of its record $2.44 billion of voter-approved bond authorization next year.

The city has made some important progress on the expenditure side, but the new mayor's first budget didn't make similar strides on revenues, according to Fitch.

Final responses are due by Dec. 8 from muni underwriters who want to be on Wisconsin sale syndicates.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit was highlighted in the report on agencies still struggling.

Jaime Alvarez, who joined the Oregon State Treasury from Houston in 2021, was named the state's director of debt management in October.

Moody's kept stable rating outlooks on Florida, Maryland and Virginia after moving the United States to negative. D.C.'s outlook was cut.

The rating agency expects that an uptick in revenues will outpace expenses as the not-for-profit hospital industry gets a handle on labor costs.

The upgrade brings Illinois up to the A-minus level across the board. The state had three BBB-minus or equivalent ratings as recently as July 2021.

Attorney General Ken Paxton put several big banks under a review last month, raising concerns more municipal bond underwriters could be driven out of the state.

Teacher shortages and enrollment declines due to growing charter and private schools are two of the problems affecting school financing.

Washington will auction $483 million in two tranches on Tuesday.

"The big question is: who's next? I don't think UBS is the end," said a veteran sellside market participant.

Large reserves will insulate states against downgrades in the near future, one rating agency says.

The data indicates that 2023 could be "the potential start of a long-feared trend toward more higher ed impairments and, possibly, defaults," MMA's weekly Outlook report said.