Bonds

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said the greater-than-expected easing in inflation in June may be an indication that the U.S. economy can have a “soft landing,” returning to price stability without a damaging recession. “There is still a plausible story that inflation normalizes in short order and the economy dodges additional trauma,”

Louisiana has tapped a consortium led by Plenary Americas as the private sector partner to negotiate a 50-year public-private partnership to replace the aging Calcasieu River bridge on Interstate 10. Calcasieu Bridge Partners is a joint venture of Plenary Americas US Holdings, Inc., which holds a 40% equity stake, and Sacyr Infrastructure USA LLC, and

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority triumphed in a hard-fought battle over the issuance of initial debt to finance a $5 billion expansion project, with the state Supreme Court Tuesday validating the bonds. In a 6-3 decision, the high court approved $500 million of second senior lien revenue bonds, rejecting arguments OTA lacks legislative authorization to build

Financial woes at an Iowa hospital led a major bondholder and a bond trustee to state court seeking the appointment of a receiver for the facility, while they demand the immediate payment of principal and interest in the wake of default events. The move comes as hospitals nationwide face persistent pressures as they slowly recover

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said data showing slower U.S. inflation is “fabulous news” but he hasn’t yet decided on whether to support pausing interest-rate increases at the next policy meeting. “I haven’t made up my mind for what should happen in September,” Goolsbee said Monday in an interview on Yahoo! Finance.

The Federal Reserve said that banks reported tighter standards and continued weak demand for loans in the second quarter, extending a trend that began before recent stresses in the banking sector emerged. The proportion of U.S. banks tightening terms on commercial and industrial loans for medium and large businesses rose to 50.8%, up from 46%

Blake Washington was appointed Thursday to be New York’s budget director. Washington, secretary to the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, where he advises the Speaker and Assembly members on all budget and fiscal matters, was chosen for the post by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “With years of public service and a deep

Alaska is crafting regulations for a law that would reduce carbon emissions by selling credits to preserve the state’s forested land to help lessen the impact of air pollution. The state’s so called tree bill, Senate Bill 48, and its companion bill, House Bill 49, were signed into law in May. When Gov. Mike Dunleavy

The life and legacy of Bond Buyer reporter Yvette Shields was honored Tuesday with a proclamation introduced on the floor of the Illinois Senate. Introduced by Sen. Rob Martwick, D-Chicago, the proclamation pays homage to Shields as a “celebrated and beloved financial reporter” who “left behind an indelible mark on the public finance industry in

Kentucky’s economy remains in overdrive as it continues to rack up record after record. This month the state saw the largest surplus in its history as the general fund budget had a $1.55 billion overage at the end of fiscal 2023. Nearly all of the surplus will go into the commonwealth’s rainy-day fund, bringing it

A bigger basketball arena is being pushed by Oklahoma City’s mayor, who wants to put a plan that would include public and team funding before voters this year. Mayor David Holt spent most of his state of the city address last week laying out his case for replacing the city-owned Paycom Center, contending “no tax

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s executive board last week approved a $15.7 billion capital plan for 2023 to 2028. Approximately 60% of capital spending called for is “focused on improving the reliability and resiliency” of the existing infrastructure, MassDOT chief Gina Fiandaca wrote in an introduction to the plan, with an additional 23% going towards

The House overwhelmingly passed a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration for the next five years and granting $4 billion per fiscal year to the Airport Improvement Project. The bill, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, was passed in a 351-69 bipartisan vote, and will now move on to the Senate

Oklahoma’s attorney general is pursuing potential legal action against parties that may have illegally profited off of huge demand for electricity and natural gas during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, which led to nearly $2.9 billion of bonds being sold last year to cover extraordinary costs incurred by four utility companies.  AG Gentner Drummond announced Tuesday

Data standardization across the municipal market will likely take years and much discussion to pinpoint the issues and how the market can solve them. Some of the apparent problems were discussed at the Brookings Municipal Finance Conference where Marc Joffe, federalism and state policy analyst at the Cato Institute, presented his paper outlining them. “If

Desert Community College District in California saw its general obligation rating upgraded by Moody’s Investors Service by one notch to Aa1 affecting $511.5 million of debt. The outlook was revised to stable from positive. The upgrade “reflects the district’s large and growing tax base and improving financial position,” Moody’s analysts wrote in Monday’s report. The

California lawmakers are in negotiations on a bill that would ask voters for $15.5 billion of bond authority to help fill a gap in the state’s plans to spend $54 billion over five years to tackle climate change. The state Senate approved Senate Bill 867 on May 31on a 33-5 vote. The bill, currently in

Hospital and health system mergers picked up steam during the second quarter, providing signs of a strengthening COVID-19 pandemic recovery and the sector’s heightened attention to the benefits of consolidation as it navigates the pressures bruising margins. Transactions announced for the second quarter rose to 20 involving $13.3 billion of revenues from 15 in the

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who called for aggressive interest-rate hikes to fight the recent inflation surge, resigned after 15 years in the position to become dean of a university business school. Bullard, 62, stepped down from his post as head of the bank effective Thursday and will fully depart Aug.

Rising costs, particularly for wages, are pressuring K-12 school districts, colleges and universities, possibly leading to strained budgets, credit negative responses and labor strife, according to Moody’s Investors Service.  While inflation growth has slowed, its effects linger. The consumer price index was up 3% from June 2022 to June 2023, marking the smallest 12-month increase