Munis

Some public colleges in the Midwest are facing budgetary squeezes paired with programming directives from state legislators, a departure from trends elsewhere.

The authority is one of the few investment-grade U.S. issuers actively selling triple-tax-exempt paper.

With economic uncertainty ahead and the Federal Reserve potentially shifting to interest-rate cuts, analysts should take a closer look at individual issuers' financial disclosures.

The week ahead boasts some big-name issuers and rare credits, which should provide interesting price discovery. The new-issue calendar totals $6.08 billion, with a larger competitive calendar coming in at $2.4 billion.

The state has tapped JP Morgan and Wells Fargo as managers of the deal.

The potential federal funding "offers the best opportunity to begin to pay bond debt," the museum's CEO told bondholders.

The funds will go through State Drinking Water and Clean Water Revolving Funds, which states often use together with municipal bonds to finance projects.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of nearly $1.5 billion.

Bond volume fell slightly, as volatility, higher interest rates, falling pandemic aid and slower economic growth kept issuers on the sidelines.

Texas bond volume climbed 22.5% to lead the nation in a year when issuance in the eight-state Southwest region increased by only 0.6%.

Moody's Investors Service placed the university under review for downgrade, citing in part debt that would be issued to purchase the University of Phoenix.

The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners unanimously approved three ordinances laying the groundwork for up to $37 million new money bonds and a tender.

The terminal project grants come as air traffic officially recovered to pre-pandemic levels last year.

Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee and Illinois have transportation P3s on tap, and the Army Corps of Engineers is advancing its first four P3 programs.

The Turnpike Authority of Kentucky approved a resolution authorizing the issuance of up to $250 million of economic development road revenue refunding bonds.

Nearly half of America's private colleges and universities reported negative operating margins in fiscal year 2023, and the trend was even worse in the Midwest.

The number of distressed charter schools rose to a record in the beginning of 2024 as the sector struggles with the end of pandemic assistance and rising costs.

This volatility can be seen in the whipsawing figures from the SIFMA Municipal Swap Index Yield over the past few months, but in January in particular.

"Even though it is hard to see the market falling out of bed and underperforming in the near term, we are more cautious going into March," Barclays PLC said in a report.

A majority of those polled at The Bond Buyer's 2024 National Outlook Conference also felt issuance would increase moderately this year, to between $400 billion and $450 billion.