Public finance

Student housing bonds trade wide for a reason: declining college-age populations, private competition and non-recourse structures make demand, disclosure, university commitment and stress-testing the signals investors need to validate, writes Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton.

Budgets for Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth come amid credit quality improvements and calls from Gov. Greg Abbott to rein in local government spending.

The bonds and notes will be used to build a Mobile River Bridge for Interstate 10 and do some work on the Bayway.

In a 5-6 vote, the city council rejected the mayor's proposal to place $489 million of revenue bonds for a professional basketball arena on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Lighter market activity is customary for a Monday, SWBC's Chris Brigati said, especially as issuers prepare to price $15 billion.

The inspector general warned in a report that the California bullet project could run out of money for construction by December 2027.

Box Elder School District's general obligation rating was cut to A1 from Aa2 ahead of a certificates of participation sale this week.

Lobbyists and lawyers are both watching three pieces of legislation that would expand the use of private activity bonds in housing, transportation infrastructure, and student loans.

The city's multi-billion dollar deals haven't struggled to find investors, despite budget challenges.

The muni market produced $294.884 billion of debt issuance in the first half of 2026, up 5.8% from the previous record of $278.694 billion in the first half of 2025, according to LSEG data.

Another sizable new-issue calendar this week will bring August's total to nearly $50 billion, around where the previous two August supply figures ended, said Kim Olsan, senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.

Democrats say the shift is part of a pattern by Republican state legislators to shift power into their own hands regardless of what is legitimate.

The coming week will be a record week for AMT offerings, according to J.P. Morgan strategists. They caution against chasing spreads tighter.

Chicago will make the second half of its advance pension payment this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson told the Chicago Investors Conference.

Oregon's largest city plans to issue $585.6 million in revenue bond debt to finance upgrades its Bull Run water filtration facility.

The report takes aim at public school budget balances and charter school funding, and suggests bond issuance to fund teacher compensation endowments.

The Port of Seattle, operator of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, joined the crowded airport bond airspace to get a refunding deal done.

The muni market is in the "doldrums of August," SWBC's Chris Brigati said.

The airport authority plans to price $362 million in airport revenue bonds next week, buoyed by a new positive outlook from Moody's Ratings.

The latest Moody's downgrades to the district's general obligation and lease obligation debt affect $847 million of outstanding bonds.