MuniNet Guide Archive
State and Local Government 2015 Audit Times Take a Step Backward
Municipal Government Audit Times Likely Affected by GASB Pension Rules A longstanding complaint among municipal bond analysts and investors is that municipal bond credit disclosures are slow to be reported, and not as timely as they are for other securities in the...
A Tale of Three Cities: Employment Picture Continues to Improve in U.S. Cities, Imbalanced Progress
Three Cities Show Three Images of Employment Picture Fortunes The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) unemployment figures for September 2016 earlier this month. Of the 387 official metro areas in the United States, 224 (58%)...
Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part VI: Types of Public Debt Honored in Full in Chapter 9
Part VI of James Spiotto’s Series on Fiscal Distress Myths & Realities: Public Debt That Has A Pledge of Special Revenues or Statutory Liens is to be Unimpaired in Chapter 9 Bankruptcy and is to Have the Benefit of the Bargain Honored in Full Myth: All Municipal...
Richmond Revenue Bonds – Water & Gas – $491 Million | MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 11/14/2016: Richmond VA Gas, Water & Wastewater Funds Revenue Bonds – $491 Million This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Virginia. The City of Richmond's gas, water, and wastewater funds is scheduled to...
Into the Gap: State Retirement Savings Systems Empower Workers
State Retirement Savings Plans Provide Opportunities for Small Businesses and Their Employees Offering retirement plans is a widely practiced benefit offering among U.S. employers. However, the vast majority of those plans are offered by large companies with 500 or...
Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part V: Factors that Help Prevent Municipal Default
Part V of James Spiotto’s Series on Fiscal Distress Myths & Realities: Factors That Have Helped Prevent State and Local Government Defaults and Municipal Bankruptcies Myth: There is Nothing Special About State and Local Governments that Would...
State of Mississippi General Obligation Bonds – $227 Million | MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 11/07/2016: State of Mississippi General Obligation Bonds – $227 Million This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Mississippi. Mississippi is scheduled to issue $227 million in General Obligation Bonds the week...
State of Illinois General Obligation Bonds – $480 Million | MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 10/31/2016: State of Illinois General Obligation – $480 Million This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Illinois. Illinois is scheduled to issue $480 million in General Obligation Bonds the week of October 31,...
Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part IV: Can a Municipality File Chapter 9?
Part IV of James Spiotto’s Series on Fiscal Distress Myths & Realities: Whether a Municipality Can File for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part I: Default Rate Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part II: Use of Chapter 9 Fiscal...
High Speed Rail Part I: New Haven-Hartford-Springfield
Partnership Aims to Bring High Speed Rail Corridor to New England Over the course of the next several weeks, MuniNet Guide will take a closer look at some of the more significant and interesting high speed rail projects and plans going on throughout the United States....
Chicago O’Hare International Airport Revenue Bonds – $1.1 Billion
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 10/24/2016: Chicago O'Hare International Airport Revenue Bonds – $1.1 Billion This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Illinois. Chicago O'Hare International Airport is scheduled to issue $1.1 billion in Senior...
Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part III: Government Defaults Have Consequences
Part III of James Spiotto’s Series on Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities: Access and the Cost of Borrowing is a Reflection of the Perceived Risk of the Government Credit Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part I: Default Rate Fiscal Distress...
‘Cities Challenge’ Offers Grants Large and Small for Innovative Community Builders
Knight Cities Challenge Accepting Applicants in Cities Across America Between October 10 and November 3, 2016, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is accepting applications for their annual Knight Cities Challenge. A $5 million pool has been set aside in grants...
Wisconsin Building Commission Approves Multiple Infrastructure Projects
State to Boost Infrastructure Development, as Wisconsin Building Commission Gives Go-Ahead for New Building and Repair Projects Last week, the State of Wisconsin Building Commission, a seven-member board chaired by Governor Scott Walker, approved several...
Philadelphia School District GO Bonds $817 Million | MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 10/17/2016: Philadelphia School District GO Bonds - $817 Million This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Pennsylvania. The School District of Philadelphia is scheduled to issue $817 million in general obligation...
Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part II: Municipalities Use of Chapter 9 is Rare
Part II of James Spiotto’s Series on Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities: Municipalities Use of Chapter 9 is Rare Compared to Corporations Use of Chapter 11 See Part I of this series: Default Rate for State and Local Government Debt Has Been Relatively...
Illinois Officially Submits Medicaid Waiver to Improve Behavioral Health Services
Medicaid Waiver Would Free Up $2.7 Billion for Improvements Today, Governor Rauner joined agency directors, local officials and stakeholders today to announce Illinois has officially submitted the 1115 Medicaid waiver proposal to the federal government. The waiver...
Mayor Emanuel Announces City of Chicago’s 2017 Budget
Chicago Budget 2017 Shows Progress, but Large Challenges Remain Tuesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel presented the City of Chicago budget for FY 2017 to the City Council. “This is a budget unlike any other in recent memory. It is free of an immediate pension crisis and free of...
MuniNet Guide: FDIC Top Pick for Municipal Securities
FDIC Top Pick Site Provides Educational Videos Accenting Municipal Securities Markets The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provides educational and training materials on a wide variety of topics relating to banking and finance. Many of these are either...
Alaska Pension Obligation Bonds – $2.4 Billion | MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 10/10/2016: Alaska Pension Obligation Bonds - $2.4 Billion This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Alaska. The Alaska Pension Obligation Bond Corporation is scheduled to issue $2.4 billion in pension obligation...
Where the Greenbacks Grow: State Income Changes Q2 2016
BEA Releases State Income Changes Q2 2016. All States Show Growth for First Time Since 2014. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its figures of changes in state income for the second quarter of 2016. The aggregate change of income for all U.S....
Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities Part I: Default Rate for State and Local Government Debt
Part I of James Spiotto's Series on Fiscal Distress Myths and Realities: Default Rate for State and Local Government Debt Has Been Relatively Low Especially When Compared to Corporate Debt Default Myth: There is no difference between the default rate...
Harvard University Revenue Bonds – $1.5 Billion | MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 10/03/2016: Harvard University Revenue Bonds – $1.5 Billion This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency is scheduled to issue $1.5 billion in revenue...
State Poverty Levels Not Level Across States
Different Measurements Show Different Views of State Poverty The nation received good news from the U.S. Census Bureau reported last week, that real median household income increased by 5.2 percent between 2014 and 2015, while the official poverty rate decreased 1.2...
North Carolina General Obligation Bonds | $149 Million Mecklenburg County
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 09/26/2016: North Carolina General Obligation Bonds - $149 Million – County of Mecklenburg This week’s featured bond comes from the State of North Carolina. The County of Mecklenburg is scheduled to issue $149 million in...