The Bond Buyer articles from April 2002

The Bond Buyer archives from April 2002

Long-Term Volume Up: Low Interest rates Spur New-Money Deals.
April 1, 2002... The volume of long-term bonds sold in the municipal market rose 10% in the first quarter to $64.7 billion -- one of the largest first quarters on record -- from $58.9 billion in the same period last year, according to preliminary figures from...

Chicago CFO Knorr Leaves For Salomon: Former Comptroller Joins private Sector.
April 1, 2002... Chicago's venerable chief financial officer Walter Knorr has decided to leave city government after more than a decade -- first as comptroller and then as the top fiscal officer -- to join Salomon Smith Barney Inc. as a managing director in...

School District's Poor Disclosure Leads One Dealer to Walk Away.
April 1, 2002... A Texas school district's failure to meet its obligations to disclose annual financial information for two fiscal years spurred a broker-dealer to walk away last week as a potential bidder for the school district's new issue of $6 million of...

The Digest.
April 1, 2002... Municipal bond prices weakened 1/8 to 1/4 of a point in light activity in a pre-holiday trading session Thursday, taking their cue from a decline in Treasuries. The market was closed March 29 for the Good Friday holiday. Complete market...

News In Brief: GDP Increases 1.7% in 4Q.
April 1, 2002... The gross domestic product rose at a 1.7% seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the final figures for the fourth quarter released by the Commerce Department. The increase compares with the 1.3% decrease registered in the third...

News In Brief: Jobless Claims Up 18,000 to 394,000.
April 1, 2002... First-time applications for state unemployment benefits rose 18,000 to 394,000 in the week ended March 23, the Labor Department reported. The figure was higher than the 365,000 in new claims projected by IFR BondData America's poll of...

News In Brief: Chicago PMI Up To 55.7% in March.
April 1, 2002... The Chicago purchasing manager's index increased to 55.7% in March from 53.1% in February, the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago said. The data is compiled on a seasonally adjusted basis. A PMI reading below 50% signals a...

News In Brief: Univ. of Mich. March Index Up.
April 1, 2002... The University of Michigan's final March consumer sentiment index increased to 95.7 from the preliminary March 95.0 reading, according to market sources. Economists polled by IFR BondData America had predicted a 94.7 reading for the index....

News In Brief: Help Wanted March Index Up.
April 1, 2002... The volume of help-wanted ads in major newspapers rose four points to 51 in February, up from 47 in January, according to the Conference Board's help-wanted advertising index. A year ago the index stood at 72. Over the last three...

Thursday's Market: Municipal Prices Fall 1/8 to 1/4; Light Trading in Short Session.
April 1, 2002... Municipal bond prices weakened an 1/8 to 1/4 of a point in light activity in a pre-holiday trading session Thursday, taking their cue from a decline in Treasuries. The market was closed March 29 for the Good Friday holiday. Treasury bond...

Denver Set to Build Own Hotel After Deal Falls Through.
April 1, 2002... Mayor Wellington Webb last week said Denver would likely sell about $285 million of tax-exempt revenue bonds to build a new hotel to complement the city's convention center expansion, after an earlier private-public partnership with local...

Rating Analysts Stress Risk Management in Power Deals.
April 1, 2002... Although public power utilities were largely unaffected by the collapse of Enron Corp., that debacle is now prompting some rating analysts to focus more on the potential risks that municipal electric utilities face when entering into power and...

D.C. on a Roll With Second of Three TIF Deals.
April 1, 2002... For only the second time in its history, the District of Columbia sold tax-increment revenue bonds last week, and a third such deal is scheduled to go to market next week. The insured, tax-exempt, negotiated deals come almost five months...

Oklahoma Authority Signs Agreement for $200M Water Pipeline.
April 1, 2002... Officials in Canadian County, Okla., on Wednesday signed a letter of commitment with an Oklahoma City firm to build an 88-mile water distribution pipeline that will likely be financed by a mix of more than $200 million of taxable and tax-exempt...

Ambac, MBIA Arrange 'Innovative' Capital Funds for Contingencies.
April 1, 2002... Bond insurers Ambac Assurance Corp. and MBIA Insurance Corp. have established banking arrangements that would allow them to draw from additional contingent funds in the event their exposure is affected by catastrophic events. Merrill Lynch...

The Week Ahead: Price Figures to Trump Volume in Determining Investor Demand.
April 1, 2002... With the official arrival of the second quarter this week, many investors will begin shopping for paper to upgrade or refresh their portfolios at higher yields than were available in the early part of the first quarter, while others say they...

Deal in Focus: New Hampshire Airport Plans to Extend Its Rebound.
April 1, 2002... Boosted by the arrival of Southwest Airlines in 1998, passenger traffic at New Hampshire's Manchester Airport grew at a record clip for 59 straight months before Sept. 11. While the fallout from the terrorist attacks sent air traffic...

CONNECTICUT:Longer Short Term.
April 1, 2002... Cities and counties around the state may soon be able to issue short-term debt more regularly, as the legislature has begun to consider a new bill that would extend the number of consecutive years a municipality can sell notes to eight years...

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Acting Guide.
April 1, 2002... Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced last week the appointment of James Buford as acting director of the district's Health Department. Buford has been serving as the department's chief operating officer since Feb. 5. Ivan Walks, the current...

MAINE: Supplemental Fix.
April 1, 2002... Gov. Angus King signed a supplemental budget last week that closed an estimated $160 million gap for the fiscal 2002-03 biennium, while also increasing education spending and bringing the state tax code into conformance with recent federal tax...

NEW YORK: Get in Line.
April 1, 2002... Empire State issuers are poised to flood the municipal market in the second quarter of 2002 with nearly $9 billion in debt. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is primarily responsible for the upcoming bonding blitz, due to the recent...

NEW YORK: Crunch Time.
April 1, 2002... Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi has until today to outline a workable plan for the county to overcome its ongoing fiscal crisis or face possible takeover by a state oversight agency. The plan, which is expected to contain a variety of...

NEW YORK: PATH to Recovery.
April 1, 2002... With the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey starting preliminary work on a temporary Port Authority Trans-Hudson train station at the World Trade Center site, Gov. George E. Pataki last week announced that the rebuilding of lower Manhattan...

NEW YORK: No Angel?
April 1, 2002... New York City Councilman Angel Rodriguez, a Brooklyn Democrat who was mentioned as a finalist for City Council speaker earlier this year, has been indicted on federal extortion charges, according to published reports. According to WNBC,...

RHODE ISLAND: Affording Housing.
April 1, 2002... The state may be able to afford affordable housing after all. The Rhode Island Senate Finance Committee began reviewing a proposal last week that calls for issuing $10 million in bonds to fund the construction of approximately 200...

PG&E Won't Contest Rate Agreement; $11.1B California Deal in Better Position.
April 1, 2002... A decision by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. not to appeal a rate-setting agreement adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission removes a major obstacle to the state's planned sale of $11.1 billion of power revenue bonds, but the specter...

UMass Agency Sets Deal for Vaccine, Research Facility.
April 1, 2002... Public service and public finance will come together when the Worcester City Campus Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Massachusetts, sells $70 million in fixed-rate, long-term bonds through the Massachusetts Health and...

NEW-ISSUE VOLUME NOTES.
April 1, 2002... The new-issue volume tables are based on information compiled by The Bond Buyer from Thomson Financial Securities Data's data base on Thursday, March 28, 2002. All figures are preliminary and subject to revision. Private placements and...

LONG-TERM BONDS: First Quarter.
April 1, 2002... 2002 2001 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $64,746,200 2,819 $58,858,400 2,808 +10.0 % January 21,468,500 909 12,452,000 ...

LARGEST ISSUES: March 2002.
April 1, 2002... Amount Issuer Date $1,105.0 California, GOs (ref) (cpt) Mar 13 800.0 Building Equity Sooner For Tomorrow, S.C., schools Mar 20 500.0 Los Angeles Unified School District, Calif., GOs Mar 27 500.0 ...

BOND SALES BY STATE: First Quarter.
April 1, 2002... 2002 2001 State Rank Volume Rank Volume Pct Chg Alabama 30 $602,600 29 $558,300 +7.9 % Alaska 42 206,500 44 134,800 +53.2 Arizona 8 1,988,000 26 734,800 +170.5...

LONG-TERM BONDS: March.
April 1, 2002... 2002 2001 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $22,558,500 949 $25,264,500 1,113 -10.7 % Development 204,200 23 848,600 69 ...

Top Bond Counsel: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP $5,113,400 89 2 Hawkins, Delafield & Wood 4,105,500 76 3 Squire, Sanders & Dempsey 3,049,500 47 4 Kutak Rock 2,464,600...

Top Financial Advisers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Public Financial Management Inc. $5,492,400 121 2 Public Resources Advisory Group 4,046,900 17 3 First Southwest Co. 2,441,100 120 4 RBC Dain Rauscher Inc....

Top Issuers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 California (State) $2,105,000 2 2 Puerto Rico Highway & Transportation Authority 1,103,900 3 3 New York State Dormitory Authority 904,000 9 4 Building Equity...

Top Senior Managers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Salomon Smith Barney Inc. $11,478,100 167 2 UBS PaineWebber Inc. 8,646,700 199 3 Merrill Lynch & Co. 6,087,900 68 4 Goldman, Sachs & Co. 4,231,200 33...

Top Trustee Banks (by Dollar Volume):.
April 1, 2002... First Quarter 2002 Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Bank of New York $6,041,200 121 2 US Bank 2,917,200 125 3 Wells Fargo Bank 2,789,100 89 4 Bank One 2,323,600 59 5 ...

Top Bond Insurers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Financial Security Assurance $11,770,100 375 2 MBIA Insurance Corp. 8,593,600 294 3 Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. 7,553,700 361 4 Ambac Assurance Corp. ...

Top Underwriter's Counsel: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP $1,518,500 41 2 Hawkins, Delafield & Wood 1,342,600 23 3 Vinson & Elkins 1,230,200 20 4 Peck, Shaffer & Williams ...

Top Co-Managers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 UBS PaineWebber Inc. $23,153,700 422 2 Salomon Smith Barney Inc. 22,500,800 402 3 Bear, Stearns & Co. 16,837,200 155 4 Merrill Lynch & Co. 14,927,400 ...

Top Trustee Banks (by Number of Issues):.
April 1, 2002... First Quarter 2002 Rank Firm Issues Amount 1 US Bank 125 $2,917,200 2 Bank of New York 121 6,041,200 3 Wells Fargo Bank 89 2,789,100 4 Bank One 59 ...

Top Small-Issue Senior Managers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. $344,200 80 2 Roosevelt & Cross Inc. 332,000 66 3 RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. 317,000 66 4 Morgan Keegan & Co. 268,100 70 ...

Top Competitive Senior Managers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Merrill Lynch & Co. $4,244,300 46 2 Salomon Smith Barney Inc. 3,860,800 55 3 UBS PaineWebber Inc. 1,419,000 76 4 Morgan Stanley 1,274,100 40 5 ...

Top Negotiated Senior Managers: First Quarter 2002.
April 1, 2002... Rank Firm Amount Issues 1 Salomon Smith Barney Inc. $7,617,300 112 2 UBS PaineWebber Inc. 7,227,800 123 3 Goldman, Sachs & Co. 3,380,800 26 4 Bear, Stearns & Co. 3,329,500 40 ...

Municipal Market Yields.
April 1, 2002... Values at 3/28/2002 -- Basis Point Change from 3/21/2002 Aaa Aa A Baa 2003 2.13 -23 2.28 -23 2.51 -23 2.79 -23 2007 3.96 -15 4.11 -15 4.34 -15 4.62 -15 2012 4.42 -05 ...

Market Indicators.
April 1, 2002... Dollar amounts are in millions Day's 2002 2002 Daily Yesterday Change High Date Low Date Municipal Bond Index 102-02 -7/32 105-10 (1/22) 102-02 (3/28) 40 Average Dollar Price 95.17 ...

U.S. Securities Prices.
April 1, 2002... Prices as of 2:00 p.m. EST. Source: GovPx Inc. Treasury Bills Yesterday's Prev. Day's Yesterday's (in percent of discount) Bid/Offer Bid/Offer Bid Yield 1M -- 4/25/2002 1.730/720 1.735/730 1.756 3M --...

Municipal Market Data General Obligation Yields.
April 1, 2002... Aaa Aaa (pure) (ins) Aa A Baa 2003 2.18 2.25 2.23 2.40 2.90 2007 3.97 4.08 4.07 4.26 4.90 2012 4.50 4.63 4.60 4.84 5.47 2017 4.97 5.10 5.07 5.31 5.90 2022...

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Yields.
April 1, 2002... Mar. 28, 2002 Mar. 27, 2002 Mar. 29, 2001 Selected MIG-1/SP-1+ Notes California Rans 3 1/4s (Jun 02) 1.70 1.80 n.a. Los Angeles Co Trans 3 3/4s (June 02) 1.60 1.70 2.90 NYC Rans 3s (Apr 02) 1.68 1.90 ...

Placement Ratio.
April 1, 2002... No. Total Amt. Sales from Placement New New Accts. New Accts. Ratio Accts. ($000s) ($000s) (%) No. Total Amt. Sales from Placement New New Accts. New Accts. Ratio Accts....

General Obligation Bond Prices for March 28, 2002.
April 1, 2002... Intermediate Long-Term Bond and Ratings (Moody's/S&P's/Fitch) Dated Cpn &Maturity Yield Price Prev Chg Cpn &Maturity Yield Price Prev Chg STATES California Series 2001 (A1/A+/A) 11/1/01 5% 12/1/07...

Visible Supply.
April 1, 2002... Competitive Negotiated Total ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) Competitive Negotiated Total ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) 2002 Weekly Averages 3/29 2,263,178 4,781,585 7,044,763 3/22 ...

Futures Markets.
April 1, 2002... Thursday, March 28, 2002 Municipal Bond Index Del. Month High Low Settle Change Jun 02 101-18 100-21 101-01 -17 Estimated number of contracts traded: 530 Number of contracts traded on 3/27: 1,794...

New-Issue Balances.
April 1, 2002... (,000 Omitted) *Since initial reoffering +Revised upward since last report Amount Date RECENT OFFERINGS Sold Balance $20,000 3/21 Oceanside Unif. Sch. Dist., Calif. $19,300 $700 24,340 3/27 ...

Municipal Bond Index.
April 1, 2002... 3 pm Noon 3 pm Noon Week Yesterday Yesterday Prev. Day Prev. Day Ago The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index 102-02 N.A. 102-09 102-07 102-13 Thursday, March 28, 2002 Maturity Par Call ...

Municipal Bond Prices.
April 1, 2002... These 40 bonds are priced and evaluated daily at about 3 p.m. by 5 municipal bond dealer-to-dealer brokers: Butler, Larsen, Pierce & Co. Chapdelaine & Co. Hartfield, Titus & Donnelly, LLC J.J. Kenny Drake Inc. R.W. Smith & Associates Inc....

Competitive Bond Offerings.
April 1, 2002... Letter F next to the issuer's name signifies the Official Notice of Sale is available on the internet! Go to www.bondbuyer.com ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING...

Competitive Note Offerings.
April 1, 2002... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Tuesday, April 2 Dracut MA Bond...

Negotiated Bond Offerings.
April 1, 2002... Tentative dates for negotiated sales of $5 million or more. raf=rating applied for; NR=Not Rated ---- ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) LEAD MANAGER INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH FIRST APPEARED Week Of April 1 ...

Negotiated Note Offerings.
April 1, 2002... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) LEAD MANAGER INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH FIRST APPEARED Wednesday, April 3 Meadow PointeIII Dev FL Bond Antic 1,340 Prager McCarthy Rizzetta & Co. -- -- --...

Sealed Bids Invited.
April 1, 2002... CALIFORNIA Official Report to The Bond Buyer Antioch Area Public Facilities Financing Agency $50,000,000 (Not to Exceed) Sealed bids 8:30 am PDST Apr 16. Community Facilities District No. 1989-1 Series 2002 Special Tax...

Bond Calls & Redemptions.
April 1, 2002... PA=Paying Agent; RE=Registrar; TR=Trustee ISSUE AMOUNT DATED DATE DUE DATE CALL DATE CALLER STATUS PENNSYLVANIA Blairsville-Saltsburg School District, general obligation bonds, Refunding Series of 1983 n/a n/a...

Results of Negotiated Sales.
April 1, 2002... CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Unified School District Mar 27, 2002 $500,000,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2002E (Election of 1997) (book entry). Dated Apr 11, 2002. Due Jul 1, 2002 to 2027. First coupon Jul 1,...

Results of Competitive Sales.
April 1, 2002... CONNECTICUT Fairfield (Town) Mar 27, 2002 $14,060,000 General Obligation Bonds 2002 Series B (book entry). Dated May 1, 2002. Due Aug 1, 2003 to 2011. Non-callable. Winning bid: UBS PaineWebber Inc, at...

N.Y.C. Delays Controversial Tobacco Deal: TFA Will Sell $250M To Fill capital Void.
April 2, 2002... Faced with the task of having to pick a new underwriting team, New York City has indefinitely shelved a controversial $660 million tobacco securitization deal that it had scheduled to price in a negotiated sale later this month. Instead,...

Restarting Dialogue at IRS: Long-Shelved marengo case gets Fresh Look.
April 2, 2002... Nearly two years after the case was assigned to the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Appeals, the examination involving zero-coupon bonds sold by the Marengo County, Ala., Port Authority has finally been dusted off and taken up by an...

Cantor Fitzgerald Muni Brokers Get Back to Work, Post-Tragedy.
April 2, 2002... Municipal brokers from Cantor Fitzgerald went back into business Monday, almost seven months after the company was devastated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City. The brokers have decided to restart "under the Cantor...

The Digest.
April 2, 2002... Municipal bonds were little changed although market tone was weaker yesterday, as Treasury bonds fell on signs of strength in manufacturing and construction. Complete market coverage by Sean Monsarrat and Nicholas Chesla appears on page 2 ...

News In Brief: ISM March Index Rises to 55.6%.
April 2, 2002... The manufacturing sector of the economy showed expansion for the second time in a row in March after falling for nearly a year and a half, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM index rose to 55.6% in March from...

News In Brief: Feb. Construction Spending Increases.
April 2, 2002... Construction spending rose more than expected in February, Commerce Department figures showed. All construction spending rose 1.1% to $879.4 billion, following a revised 0.8% gain in January that was originally reported as a 1.5% increase....

News In Brief: Treasury Bills Go At 1.790%, 2.110%.
April 2, 2002... Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 92-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed as the three-months incurred a 1.790% high rate, down from the previous auction's rate of 1.820%, and as the six-months incurred a 2.110% high rate,...

News In Brief: Treasury to Sell 4-Week Bills Today.
April 2, 2002... The Treasury Department said yesterday that it will sell $19 billion of four-week discount bills today. The four-week bills will pay down $2 billion by auctioning $19 billion of bills to refund $21 billion of maturing bills. Federal...

News In Brief: Personal Income, Spending Up in Feb.
April 2, 2002... Personal income rose 0.6% and consumption expenditures also increased 0.6% in February, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Personal income rose $49.9 billion to $8.9 trillion, after a 0.5% gain in January. Spending rose $44.6 billion...

Monday's Market: Munis Little Changed Amid Weak Tone; Treasuries Finish Lower on Strong Data.
April 2, 2002... Municipal bonds were little changed, although market tone was weaker yesterday, as Treasury bonds fell on signs of strength in manufacturing and construction. Governments declined after the Institute for Supply Management index rose for...

Alabama Highway Authority to Issue $200 Million of Garvees.
April 2, 2002... For the first time in more than two decades, the Alabama Federal Aid Highway Finance Authority is issuing bonds. In the largest competitive bond sale of the week, the authority Wednesday plans to issue $200 million of 15-year, Series 2002A,...

Transportation: Bush Announces Two DOT Recess Appointments.
April 2, 2002... President Bush has appointed Jeffrey N. Shane to be associate deputy secretary of transportation and Emil H. Frankel to be assistant secretary of transportation for transportation policy. Under the two recess appointments, which were...

Trustee: 'No Hope' for Holders of Defaulted Ohio Water Debt.
April 2, 2002... The trustee on $25.6 million of defaulted Ohio Water Development Authority Series 1997 solid-waste revenue debt told bondholders in a default notice filed Monday that they can "choose" to write off their investment as a loss for 2002 if they...

Governor's Team Kills Plan to Raise Louisiana Debt Limit.
April 2, 2002... Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster's office pulled a proposal last week that would have allowed lawmakers to consider raising the state's debt limit to accommodate the funding of a slowly progressing, $2.3 billion transportation program. State...

California Earthquake Authority Dismisses New Idea of Catastrophe Bonds.
April 2, 2002... The world's largest earthquake insurer last week decided against issuing more than $700 million in catastrophe bonds for 2003, ending discussions on the topic that began in December. The concept raised more questions than answers for the...

Moody's Goes Negative on Colorado Charter School's Debt.
April 2, 2002... Citing lower-than-expected enrollment, Moody's Investors Service on Friday assigned a negative outlook to $6.65 million of charter school revenue bonds issued by the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority on behalf of the...

The Trading Floor.
April 2, 2002... MuniDirect Reopens For Malachi Group MuniDirect.com, an Atlanta-based online municipal bond brokerage that had to shut down its Web site in January due to its parent company's lack of cash, announced last week that it has reopened after...

Deal in Focus: COPs Sale Powers Planned Univ. of Arizona Buildings.
April 2, 2002... The Arizona Board of Regents will sell $79.9 million of certificates of participation today on behalf of the University of Arizona in a negotiated deal led by UBS PaineWebber Inc. The lease-revenue certificates are backed by public...

ARIZONA: Second Site Bill.
April 2, 2002... Gov. Jane Dee Hull said if the Senate reintroduces and passes a bill that would allow tribal governments to bid to be the host of the proposed $350 million Arizona Cardinals football stadium, she will sign the measure into law. A modified...

ARIZONA: Prison Transfer.
April 2, 2002... Gov. Jane Dee Hull last week announced that she would take $4 million from a state prison building fund and place it into the prison system's operating budget. The proposal, which will have to be approved by Arizona lawmakers, would allow...