Investments

Moody's upgraded five Illinois public universities after lifting the state government's rating, lifting one to investment grade and putting three others closer.

Holders of $4.3 billion of HTA bonds will receive $1.2 billion of new bonds with 5% coupons and $389 million of cash.

Michael Rinaldi, head of local government ratings at Fitch, talks with Chip Barnett about the murky financial picture after the move by Gov. Ron DeSantis to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District after Disney Co. said it plans to fight to repeal the new “Don’t Say Gay” law. (12 minutes)

Municipal returns in April were deeply negative, bringing the year-to-date figure to near 9% losses, the largest posted on the Bloomberg Muni Index since its inception in the 1980s.

Texas ballots are bursting with $18.5 billion of bonds Saturday as cities and school districts ask voters to approve 207 bond measures.

The legislative clock is ticking as midterm campaigning ramps up, but the lame duck session offers a fresh opportunity.

With the ink still drying on the central government restructuring, analysts give takeaways from Puerto Rico's bankruptcy. Some point to credit fundamentals, others to lack of willingness to pay, as key drivers of the bankruptcies.

Illinois expects to sell about $1 billion of new-money general obligation debt but the deal could grow if market conditions permit savings on a refunding piece.

Investors will be greeted Monday with a steep drop in volume, with the new-issue calendar estimated at $4.583 billion — less than half of this week's supply.

The MSRB plans to issue a request for comment on its Rule G-14, in addition to publishing a summary of the comments on its request for information on ESG factors.

Total April volume was $34.329 billion in 729 deals versus $37.105 billion in 1,124 issues a year earlier.

Improving tax revenues allowed the mayor to increase the size of his spending proposal while keeping the budget balanced.

The West Virginia Democrat has been critical of Biden's goal of a speedy transition to electric vehicles, in part because of China's dominance of the battery market.

This is the second time S&P Global Ratings placed New Orleans on negative CreditWatch due to long delays in publishing audited financial statements.

Issue is disposition of $1 billion to $2 billion of Puerto Rico government funds.

Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual funds in the latest week, with Refinitiv Lipper reporting $2.875 billion of outflows, down from $3.548 billion of outflows in the previous week.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg heard concerns from both sides of the aisle during his latest appearance on Capitol Hill.

The suit by local police pension funds slowed the consolidation process that Gov. J.B. Pritzker touted as helping local governments manage rising pension costs.

Several firms' ability to underwrite municipal bond issues in Texas is under review.

If state and local governments make progress on social problems with federal relief funds, it could be credit positive for them, Moody’s Investors Service said.