Munis

Lower gas prices, remote working, easy driving and new competition from ride-share companies are taking slices of the pie.

Puerto Rico’s Federal Oversight Board is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that deemed its members unconstitutionally appointed.

In the coming months bond lawyers expect numerous municipal governments to issue new bonds to support investments in Opportunity Zones.

The biggest news in the world of public-private partnerships (P3s) last year had nothing to do with toll roads — the most visible way governments team up companies. Instead, the most expensive infrastructure deals were projects to build a car-rental facility and a small tram at Los Angeles International Airport.

Franklin, with preliminary assets under management of $712.3 billion, including $63.4 billion of tax exempts, has suffered net outflows since 2014.

The firm hired Michael Barnes in Philadelphia and Andrew Maher in Pittsburgh.

Action got underway in the primary on Monday as an Iowa school district sold over $100 million of general obligations.

The audit concluded a year and one day after the sports authority received a letter dated April 4, 2018, informing it that the tax-exempt status of the bonds was being examined.

The court shouldn't accept banker Peter Cannava's "narrow and cramped view of materiality,” the SEC urged.

A higher state sales tax would be used to help fund public schools, in connection with a cap on local property taxes.

S&P Global Ratings downgraded the University of Connecticut to A-plus from AA-minus.

The hospital system will sell $250 million of bonds using the Michigan Finance Authority as conduit.

The top muni bond counsel firms accounted for $74.79 billion in 1,783 transactions in the first quarter of 2019, up from $61.46 billion in 1,655 deals a year earlier. Although overall business was up, most of the top firms didn't quite achieve higher totals than they had during the same time last year.

PFM, Acacia and Piper move up in FA rankings, as deal volume handled by the top firms rose 18.6% from last year's depressed level to $64.32 billion.

Municipal bond insurers are running close to last year's clip through the first three months of 2019, as the two active insurers wrapped $3.61 billion in 288 transactions. That compares with $3.61 billion 257 deals during the same period last year. The insurance penetration rate dipped to 4.8% from 5.9% at the end of the first quarter of last year.

The top muni underwriters counsel rankings were all shaken up, as business spiked to $48.69 billion from $41.94 billion at this point last year.

The New York and New Jersey bi-state agency in announced that electronic tolls will roll out on two more bridges this year.

Westinghouse, the former contractor for the utility’s failed nuclear reactor project, filed a lawsuit to recover property it says the state-owned utility is withholding.

The New England law firm added the former Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate as it seeks to boost its regional public finance footprint.

Voter approval rates this year for Wisconsin school district fiscal referendums fell short of last year’s record levels.