PUERTO RICO’S REPUDIATION OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS: A REAL RISK OR JUST KABUKI THEATER By James E. Spiotto On January 14, 2019, the Financial Oversight and Management Board, acting through its Special Claims Committee and the Official Committee of Unsecured...
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Risk Perception of State and Local Government Debt May Stress Taxes and Leverage Without a Certainty of Payment – Use of Statutory Liens, Special Revenues and Other Means of Assurance
By James E. Spiotto Fiscal distress of or perception of risk of nonpayment by government begets higher cost of borrowing and even loss of access to the market The perception of fiscal distress leads to higher interest rates (cost of borrowing) in the global markets:...
Chapter 9 Municipal Bankruptcy Statistics: Use by Number, Type and Year
Historically, the use of Chapter 9 bankruptcy by a municipality is still rare, and a last resort. MuniNet Guide's update on historical and current municipal bankruptcy statistics We are providing an update on our 2015 piece on municipal bankruptcy statistics. One of...
Embracing Shared Risk and Chapter 9 to Create Sustainable Public Pensions
Unsustainable and Unaffordable Public Pensions Cannot be Solved by Raising Taxes or the Passage of Time, but There are Some Practical Solutions W. Gordon Hamlin, Jr.; Mary Pat Campbell; Andrew M. Silton; and James E. Spiotto To date, no American state or local...
“Puerto Rico’s ‘Assured’ Decision Should be Reconsidered or Reversed” by James Spiotto
Why Pledged Revenues Are Required to Be Paid to Revenue Bondholders in Chapter 9 Municipal Bankruptcy. And, Why the Assured Decision in Puerto Rico’s PROMESA Title III Proceeding Should Be Reconsidered or Reversed on Appeal by James Spiotto On January 30, 2018, the...
Beyond Hurricane Maria: Federal Action in Puerto Rico with PROMESA
Understanding Current Structures and Potential Changes to Federal Action in Puerto Rico Requires Analysis of the Enactment of PROMESA and its Provisions In a continuing series on the recovery of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, James Spiotto looks at the...
Beyond Fiscal Troubles and Hurricane Maria: What, Why, and How Puerto Rico Should Recover
Puerto Rico's Recent Fiscal and Economic History, and The Road Ahead for Puerto Rico's Hurricane Recovery and Financial Renewal by James Spiotto Puerto Rico has suffered the perfect storm of a financial crisis of epic proportions and the devastating effects of...
Overcoming Economic Downturns and Fiscal Distress Part VI: Oversight and Assistance in Illinois
In Part VI of ‘Overcoming Economic Downturns and Fiscal Distress’, James Spiotto Shows What Oversight & Assistance Illinois Provides for Financially Distressed Municipalities, and What Present Legislative Proposals May Offer Part V of this series focused on the...
Overcoming Economic Downturns and Fiscal Distress Part V: Business Development and Balanced Budgets
In Part V of ‘Overcoming Economic Downturns and Fiscal Distress’, James Spiotto Discusses the Benefits of Economic Stimulus and Business Development, and a Case Study in Upside Chicago Part IV of this series focused on addressing legacy costs, most notably...
Overcoming Economic Downturns and Fiscal Distress Part IV: The Need to Successfully Address Public Pensions
In Part IV of ‘Overcoming Economic Downturns and Fiscal Distress’, James Spiotto Discusses the Need to Successfully Address Legacy Costs, So That Funding of Essential Services and Needed Infrastructure Improvement Become the Solution Part III of this series focused on...