MuniNet Guide Archive
What is a ‘Business Friendly’ Tax Policy?
State Adjustments to Tax Structures Offer Mixed Results The Urban Institute's Norton Francis recently issued a brief outlining how states use changes to the tax structure to foster economic development. Each state uses their own particular mix of taxes to generate...
Texas School District to Issue $137 Million in School Building Bonds
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 07/05/2016: Coppell Independent School District (TX) This week’s featured bond comes from Coppell Independent School District (ISD), which scheduled to issue $137 million in school building and refunding bonds the week of...
Municipal Finance Digest: Fiscal Policy in Our Cities and States
MuniNet Guide provides some of the more notable news stories relating to state and local government finance, including taxes, budgets, and pensions. U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2015 Survey of Public Pensions (U.S. Census Bureau) - The U.S. Census Bureau's...
Featured Conference: Brookings/Brandeis/Washington University 5th Annual Municipal Finance Conference
On July 12, 2016, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings Institution, the Rosenberg Institute of Global Finance at Brandeis International Business School, and Olin Business School at Washington University St. Louis are teaming together to...
Massachusetts Issues Multiple GO Bond Series
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 06/27/2016: Commonwealth of Massachusetts This week’s featured bond comes from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which scheduled to issue a total of $892 million in general obligation bonds, secured by the full faith...
Where the Greenbacks Grow: State Income Changes Q1 2016
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its figures of changes in state income for the first quarter of 2016. The aggregate change of income for all U.S. states was an increase of 1.0% over the fourth quarter of 2015. The release shows how much a state’s...
Allegheny County to Issue $276 million GO | MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 06/20/2016: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania This week’s featured bond comes from the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which scheduled to issue $276 million in general obligation bonds, secured by the full faith and credit...
State GDP Growth: Who Finished 2015 in the Right Direction?
2015 GDP Numbers Show Shifting Regional Momentum This week, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released their Gross Domestic Product numbers for each state and region for the fourth quarter of 2015 and the 2015 calendar year. The aggregate change for the U.S. as a...
State of Illinois to Issue $550 Million: MuniNet Featured Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 06/13/2016: Illinois This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Illinois, which scheduled to issue $550 million in general obligation bonds, secured by the full faith and credit of the State, the week of June 13,...
How Does Your State’s Economy Rank?
by Bradford Langs CFA The U.S. economic recovery is nearing its seventh anniversary, although this recovery has been deemed modest at best. On the state and local level, outlooks vary and are largely dependent on employment dynamics. The Fed raised rates for the...
Harris County Tollway Authority to Issue Revenue Refunding Bonds
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 06/06/2016: Harris County This week’s featured bond comes from the Harris County Texas Toll Road Authority, which scheduled to issue $500 million in general revenue bonds, secured by revenues from the toll road and...
America’s Major Metro Areas Continue to Reduce Unemployment
Large Cities Continue to Beat National Average The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) unemployment figures for April 2016. Of the 387 official metro areas in the United States, 269 (70%) saw their unemployment rates drop...
Police, Prisoners, and Crimes: A Look at the Numbers
MuniNet Takes a Look at Public Criminal Justice Data Available to Answer Questions Criminal justice and public safety are some of the most frequently discussed and scrutinized government functions. One of the reasons for its persistent importance is that crime is...
Featured Bond: Pennsylvania to Issue $990 Million
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 05/31/2016: Pennsylvania This week’s featured bond comes from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which scheduled to issue $990 million in general revenue bonds, secured by full faith and credit of the state, the week of...
Featured Conference: Federal Trade Commission’s ‘Something New Under the Sun’
FTC's June Conference Looks at Competition and Consumer Protection in Burgeoning Solar Industry The Federal Trade Commission is holding a one-day workshop in Washington D.C. on June 21, 2016, to tackle some of the issues present in solar energy. With solar, consumers...
San Diego Water Utility Offers $567 Million in Revenue Bonds
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 05/23/2016 This week’s featured bond comes from the San Diego Water Utility Fund, which scheduled to issue $567 million in subordinated water revenue bonds, secured by a pledge of net revenues from the Water Utility Fund,...
Bond Buyer Conference Casts Wide Net to Cover Municipal Market Issues
Municipal Market Experts Provide Insights and Optimism MuniNet was present this week at The Bond Buyer’s Midwest Municipal Market Conference in Chicago, IL. The conference covered an ambitious agenda, with nine separate panels each taking the stage during this...
Nashville-Davidson County Metro Government Issued General Obligation Bond
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 05/16/2016 This week’s featured bond comes from the Nashville-Davidson County Metropolitan Government, which scheduled to issue $298 million in general obligation bonds, secured by a pledge of the full faith and credit of...
New Chicago Survey Takes the Pulse of Resident Views of City
Chicago Resident's Views Both Reinforce and Surprise Earlier this month, the New York Times and the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a survey of 1,123 Chicago residents aged 18 and over, randomly selected, to gather information of their current views toward their...
Featured Conference: Bond Buyer Midwest Muni Market Conference
Thought leaders in Investing and Financing in the Muni Market Meet in Chicago for Bond Buyer Midwest Conference The Bond Buyer will be having its Midwest Municipal Market Conference in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Focusing on the investor and financing...
Chicago Water System Issuing Revenue Bonds for Capital Improvements
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 05/09/2016 This week’s featured bond comes from the City of Chicago, which scheduled to issue $700 million in revenue bonds, secured by pledged net revenues of the Chicago Water Fund, the week of May 9, 2016. The plans...
Midwestern College Students & Staff Show Support for Intercity Rail Passenger Service
Recent Survey Reveals Evidence of Untapped Demand for Passenger Rail The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission recently conducted a survey of students, staff, and faculty at 30 Midwestern colleges and universities. The institutions reside in nine states, and...
MSRB Releases Q1 Muni Market Statistics
Muni Market Sees Activity Boost On May 5, 2016, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) released their summary statistics of the municipal securities market for the first quarter of 2016. MSRB is a private organization dedicated to protecting investors,...
Featured Conference: The Chicago Forum on Global Cities
MuniNet's featured conference is the Chicago Forum on Global Cities, being put on by The Financial Times and the Chicago Forum on Global Affairs, June 1-3 2016, in Chicago, IL. Open to public registration, this event will bring together government, non-profit, and...
Spotlight Bond: $850 million New York State Thruway
Featured Municipal Bond in the Market, Week of 05/02/2016 This week's spotlight bond comes from New York. The New York State Thruway Authority is scheduled to issue a $850 million negotiated bond series (junior indebtedness obligations) the week of May 02, 2016....