Higher education bonds

The municipal bond tax exemption could be at risk under a proposal from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to reduce student debt.

Multiple factors are pressuring Puerto Rico's nonprofit universities and hospitals, Standard & Poor's said Thursday.

Puerto Rico's ongoing fiscal struggles could continue to have negative implications for rated colleges and universities in the commonwealth in the coming year as it has in the past, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services believes.

The Investment Company Institute is urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to give 529 college savings plan underwriters another extension before they will have to file their first data submissions under a recently adopted rule.

Favorable demographic trends and increases in funding will give Texas colleges and universities an advantage over systems in other states, according to a report from Moody’s.

The Illinois Finance Authority advanced plans for nearly $1 billion in borrowing on behalf of not-for-profit schools and hospitals led by the University of Chicago.

The University of North Texas has received a clean audit after paying back $4.7 million of state funds that were improperly used for the university’s operations, according to a disclosure notice. The audit clears the way for UNT to return to the bond market.

University of North Carolina professor Pab Jotikasthira wins the James A. Lebenthal Memorial prize for best paper submitted at the Brandeis Municipal Finance Conference.

Standard & Poor's credit view of Illinois' flagship public university has dimmed due to uncertainty over when the state will solve its fiscal 2016 budget impasse and how the school will fare in a final plan.

Standard & Poor's outlook on the University of Minnesota Regents' rating has dimmed due to pressures posed by the state flagship school's increasing debt load.

Rutgers University in New Jersey announced on Aug, 5 that it raised a record $187.9 million during the 2014-15 academic year fueled by a surge in donations at the end of a lengthy fundraising campaign.

Enrollment declines at the 14 universities in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education pressure their operations, said Janney's Alan Schankel.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the University of West Alabama's bonds to A3 from A2 citing weak financial performance and declining enrollment.

Five Louisiana universities avoided rating downgrades by Standard & Poor's because the state bolstered their 2016 budgets instead of enacting new cuts.

The University of Texas System saw strong demand for $218 million of Permanent University Fund bonds priced through a nine-member syndicate led by JP Morgan.

The Illinois Finance Authority is rolling out a new financing program to help smaller hospitals purchase equipment and meet federal healthcare record-keeping mandates.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is proposing to create a trade data product that would allow higher education researchers to see what dealers are doing while keeping the dealer identities anonymous.

Pepperdine University received Double A ratings from two rating agencies ahead of plans to price a $77 million revenue bond refunding the week of July 20.

Temple University in Philadelphia approved a 2.8% increase in undergraduate tuition on July 14.

Bonds issued to finance student loans will not become taxable if their issuer takes action to cease being a qualified scholarship funding corporation, the Internal Revenue Service said.