Public finance

In need of revenue, some state legislatures are turning to their wealthiest residents for additional monies.

The muni market's strong performance in May and so far in June has been in line with historical trends, Mikhail Foux wrote for Barclays — but historical trends suggest the market will lose steam soon as supply builds.

The letter from officials in Democrat strongholds asked the rating agencies to maintain their focus on financial analytics in viewing energy-dependence, rather than being swayed by the political winds.

The rating agency gave the city a negative outlook in November 2024, following voter approval of a ballot measure requiring more public safety funding.

A county tax collector said the ballot measure, if passed, would endanger outstanding local bonds throughout the state.

Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton recaps May's muni outperformance versus Treasuries and broad fixed income, highlighting how carry, reinvestment demand and spread compression drove strong returns and helped A3 and Baa credits lead the market.

On the primary market, some deals are oversubscribed and others sent back to the drawing board.

"On a broad level, sentiment appears to reflect long-range optimism, though with some expected bumps along the way," NewSquare Capital's Kim Olsan wrote.

The bond parties want the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston to overturn the U.S. District Court's rulings on their efforts to gain control of PREPA.

The Nassau County Tobacco Settlement Corp's ability to continue as a going concern depends on restructuring its tobacco debt, the county's audit said.

The Quincy, Massachusetts, mayor wants the city to issue debt to buy the former Eastern Nazarene campus. There is concern about the city's high debt load.

Mayor Andre Dickens wants to extend tax allocation districts, which could generate $5 billion to $7 billion that could back bonds.

The revenue bonds would continue financing for a 15-year, $8.2 billion program to widen existing toll roads and build new ones.

"A lot of retail investors are still very distracted by the stock market," said Pat Luby, head of municipal strategy at CreditSights.

With nearly $4.5 billion of tax-exempt bonds, a restructuring or bankruptcy would be among the muni market's largest to date.

Investors most recently added $2.33 billion to mutual funds for the week ending May 27, bringing positive flows to date to almost $40 billion, according to LSEG Lipper.

S&P lifted Graham's general obligation bond and certificates of obligation rating to A from BBB due to the city's earlier-than-projected financial turnaround.

The status of the war in Iran is confusing, Hennion & Walsh's James Pruskowski said, but high absolute rates are giving the muni market a strong start to June.

The quartet of accelerated deals is among at least 25 additional unique credits above $100 billion coming to market, a major contributor to the surging supply of $18 billion to $20 billion this week.

The six-month pre-development agreement is the first step toward a larger public-private partnership to help deliver the struggling bullet train.