Refunding bonds

The state will use debt service savings from the refunding side of the deal for near-term budget relief; the deal includes its first taxable refunding bonds.

Such moves could reduce costs by up to $180 million in present-value savings, Joe Torsella said.

TMI Trust agreed to a settlement that allows bondholders to be paid interest during the Chapter 11 case of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.

The public finance industry would gain from the reinstatement of tax-exempt advance refunding and other muni-friendly measures under a Democratic sweep of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Tax changes sought by the municipal bond industry are likely to be embedded into infrastructure legislation.

"We have no need for cash-flow relief or restructuring," said the treasurer of Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which continues to expand its rail services.

The Louisiana State Bond Commission will refinance $424 million of variable-rate bonds; the deal isn't expected to include the termination of underwater swaps.

Moody’s Investors Service revised the outlook on its Aa2 rating to negative ahead of the $96 million deal.

Upfront savings from the $371 million deal will improve liquidity for the authority after the coronavirus-caused traffic downturn.

The airport will sell $925 million in a deal structured to lower short-run debt-service outlays as it manages through the coronavirus-driven air travel decline.

Advance refunding, direct-pay bonds, and increased limits on bank-qualified bonds would be among the muni-friendly tax provisions that have a good chance of becoming law if Democrats control both chambers of Congress.

With its credit ratings intact after the economic blow from the pandemic, Dallas will go to market with $293 million of bonds.

The Florida Cabinet approved new money and refunding bonds, some of which may be sold as taxable debt with advance tax-exempt refundings no longer possible.

Facing a revenue disruption over next two years, the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority will ease cash flow pressure with a $100 million refunding.

The city's full-court press on investors includes a webinar to replace pre-COVID-19 investor luncheons and one-on-one calls ahead of the $1.24 billion deal.

Rep. Richard Neal was the lead architect of the muni-friendly provisions in the Moving Forward Act which passed the House in July.

Municipal bond issuers in the Southeast sold $27.7 billion of debt, down 7% year-over-year as the region saw fewer big transportation and prepay gas deals.

The region's municipal bond issuers borrowed $40.4 billion during the first half of the year as record low rates more than tripled refunding activity.

Trump's bare-bones campaign agenda released Aug. 23 promises to “build the world’s greatest infrastructure system.”

Whether Democrats regain control of the Senate may be the most crucial question for the municipal finance sector in this year’s November election.