Public finance

Four senators released a proposal to deal with the Bluegrass state’s unfunded pension obligations.

The average funded ratio of suburban and downstate Illinois public safety funds is 51%.

Bernalillo County and Albuquerque both can issue industrial revenue bonds, but over the past five years, the county has approved 26 such proposals to none from Albuquerque.

Rhode Island voters give the public schools a passing grade and two-thirds of them support the proposed $250-million state bond issue for public school repair and construction.

The municipal bond market will see $4.8 billion of bonds fly in this week topped by deals from Baltimore County, Alabama Black Belt Gas and the New York State Thruway along with two airports offerings from Houston and Los Angeles.A smorgasbord of bonds is heading our way this week. The new-issue deal calendar stands at $4.8 billion.Baltimore County, Maryland, headlines the slate with four competitive sales of notes and bonds totaling $837 million.Alabama's Black Belt Energy Gas District will sell a $650 million offering.The New York State Thruway Authority will also make a splash with a $600 million deal.And two airport deals -- a $435 million sale from Houston, and a $376 million offering from Los Angeles -- are also making waves.

The municipal market sees a lighter-than-average supply slate of $4.8 billion head their way this week.

Connecticut Treasurer Denise Nappier told lawmakers that Gov. Dannel Malloy's plan to push out payments would violate a bond covenant.

A fear of the end of private activity bond tax-exemption led some sector issuance to surge in 2017.

Even though interest rates have not risen as fast as the bond insurance industry hoped for, and 2017 saw the contraction of an active insurer, the bond insurance wrap remains relatively stable in terms of market share.

Long-term issuance in the municipal market virtually matched its record high set in 2016, against the backdrop of tax reform that produced an end-of-year flood of volume, but the outlook for 2018 is less rosy.

Comptroller Scott Stringer said the budget cushion in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s preliminary fiscal 2019 budget is inadequate to ward off any problems as New York's economic expansion slows.

Market sources say the week's deals will be `well received,' while a new report cast doubt on prospects for a near-term supply pickup.

The director of the Honolulu transit project offered to forego $3.8 million.

The power of public employee unions to influence elections and their wage and benefit arrangements could be at stake.

Northeast municipal bond issuance was up 4% from 2016 to $121.3 billion.

Buyers will vie for about $4.8 billion of bonds next week.

The plan would expand flexibility and broaden the uses of tax-exempt private activity bonds.

Financial advisor and attorney Calvin Grigsby vowed to appeal a judge's ruling finding that his former client has absolute immunity from lawsuits.

New York City had little difficulty completing over $1 billion of bond sales in competitive and negotiated deals on Thursday, even amid concern over rising interest rates.

A plan that passed the state House would divvy up $175 million among state and local governments.