Phoenix sells first new money GO bonds since 2012

Phoenix returned to the municipal market this week with its first new money general obligation bond issue in 12 years and a plan to be a more frequent borrower using that credit source in the future.

From politics to disclosure to funding, the changing climate challenges muni issuers. Learn more in our Climate Spotlight 2024 package.

BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said he sees major opportunities in private infrastructure investment amid rising public deficits coupled with the coming energy transition and artificial intelligence needs. "There's a generational demand for capital and infrastructure, including the [need to] finance data centers for AI and for energy transition," Fink said Monday during the firm's second quarter earnings call. "Private capital will be critical in meeting these infrastructure needs, both stand-alone and through public-private partnerships."

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Federal pandemic aid stemming from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020, which flowed to county governments, resulted in slightly lower borrowing costs, reduced credit quality and a preference for short-term over long-term debt instruments, according to a study authored by Luis Navarro, professor of public and environmental policy at Indiana University, that will be presented at this year's Brookings Municipal Finance Conference.

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S&P Global Ratings has raised Orange County, California's issuer credit rating to AAA from AA-plus. The county, best-known as home to Disneyland, paid off the remaining debt related to its 1994 bankruptcy in 2018 and long ago shrugged off the reputational stain. It also holds a AAA rating from Fitch Ratings. Both S&P and Fitch have assigned stable outlooks.

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Municipals were firmer in secondary trading Tuesday as the primary market picked up steam, while U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities ended up. Munis and taxables rallied last week, due to June's consumer price index report and the "related better odds" for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

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