The Bond Buyer articles from March 2003

The Bond Buyer archives from March 2003

The Digest.
March 3, 2003... Municipal yields fell between one and three basis points Friday as Treasuries gained late in the session. Complete market coverage by Nicholas Chesla appears on page 2 News FINANCIAL GUARANTY INSURANCE CO.'S AAA financial strength...

Florida Water Deal Still on Hold; Judge Sees Final Ruling by Friday.
March 3, 2003... A circuit judge in Tallahassee on Friday continued a temporary injunction prohibiting the sale of Florida Water Services Corp. and ordered briefs to be submitted by 5 p.m. today. A final ruling is expected by this Friday on whether a...

Long-Terms Set Record In February: Volume Skirts $27B, Up 28% From 2002.
March 3, 2003... Taking advantage of low interest rates and the lack of investor enthusiasm for stocks, issuers in the municipal market sold a record volume of long-term bonds last month. Supply hit a mark of $26.8 billion, according to preliminary data...

Illinois Lures Abel Banker: David Abel Leaves UBS to Manage State Debt.
March 3, 2003... Illinois' new Democratic administration has lured Chicago-based investment banker David Abel -- highly regarded for his quantitative analysis skills -- to fill the position of director of debt management. Abel, who was recruited for the...

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Just Averts Default.
March 3, 2003... In its most recent debt debacle, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., has narrowly averted defaulting on $34.7 million in general-obligation backed insured pension bonds by borrowing $1.8 million in tax anticipation notes to help make a debt service payment due...

News In Brief: GDP Up 1.4% in 4Q, Twice the Estimate.
March 3, 2003... Real gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of the economy's performance -- rose at a 1.4% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2002, according to preliminary figures released by the Commerce Department Friday. ...

News In Brief: S&P Comments On FGIC Sale Rumor.
March 3, 2003... Financial Guaranty Insurance Co.'s AAA financial strength rating seems safe, Standard & Poor's said Friday, amid rumors its parent General Electric Capital Co. is considering a sale. Despite its practice of not commenting on rumors, S&P...

News In Brief: Chicago PMI Index Dips to 54.9 In Feb.
March 3, 2003... The Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index slipped to 54.9% in February from 56.0% in January, the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago said Friday. The data is compiled on a seasonally adjusted basis. An index reading below 50%...

News In Brief: NAPM-NY Index Drops To 244.8 From 252.6.
March 3, 2003... The New York City economy was as cold as the city's weather in February, and while the Presidents' Day blizzard contributed to the chilling news, it was not the sole cause of the dramatic drop-off in the National Association of Purchasing...

Friday's Market: Municipal Yields Fall 1 to 3 Points.
March 3, 2003... Municipal yields fell between one and three basis points Friday as Treasuries gained late in the session. Treasuries moved firmly into positive territory during the afternoon as investors sought the safety of U.S. debt on war worries at...

Texas Charter School Hoping for AG's Approval to Sell GOs.
March 3, 2003... Officials in Westlake, Tex., say they are hoping the new state attorney general approves the use of general obligation debt for the new Westlake Academy charter school because the alternative financing mechanism would be more expensive for...

With $1B Deal Upcoming, N.Y.'s Battery Park City Outlook Raised.
March 3, 2003... Affirming the New York-based Battery Park City Authority's recovery from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Moody's Investors Service Friday changed the outlook on $840 million in tax-exempt debt sold by the authority to stable from...

Transportation Commission to Weigh in on $12M of Detroit Airport Bonds.
March 3, 2003... A state transportation commission this month will consider Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's $12 million revenue bond measure designed to help the state make the final payment on its portion of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport's...

Arizona Won't Turn to Bonds to Bridge Budget Gap.
March 3, 2003... Arizona will bypass the bond market in solving its current $300 million revenue shortfall under a plan worked out between legislative leaders and the governor's budget executives. Gov. Janet Napolitano expects to call a one-day special...

SEC: Donaldson's Goals: More Agency Efficiency, Corporate Ethics.
March 3, 2003... In his first public speech, new Security and Exchange Commission chairman William H. Donaldson Friday said his mission will be both to make the SEC more proactive and efficient and to challenge market participants to go beyond their legal...

Congress: Professor George Yin Returning to Hill As Joint Tax Committee's Chief of Staff.
March 3, 2003... George Yin has been named chief of staff of the Joint Tax Committee. Yin, who is currently a tax law professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., will initially work part-time in his new post and join full-time when the...

Fund Flows: Net Inflows Make Disappointing Headway in January.
March 3, 2003... Municipal bond mutual funds got off to a slow start in January, with a net inflow of just $177 million, according to Investment Company Institute data released Thursday. That compared to a net inflow of $1.462 billion in January 2002,...

Promotions: American Century Names Moore To Lead Muni Research Division.
March 3, 2003... David Moore, a vice president and former senior municipal credit analyst at American Century Investments, was promoted this month to head the firm's municipal research group. Moore's succession to the post followed the Mountain View,...

The Week Ahead: Amid Uncertainty, Specialty State Offerings Should Do Well.
March 3, 2003... The glut of new issues will continue to crowd this week's primary market, with sizeable deals from several specialty states expected to get lots of attention due to their trading relatively cheaper than usual compared to national levels. ...

Trends in the Region: 'Supreme Bean Counter' Keeps D.C. on Straight and Narrow.
March 3, 2003... Calling himself the "supreme bean counter of the nation's capital," Natwar M. Gandhi is an unusually self-effacing soul in a town overrun by monster egos. Sources credit the District of Columbia's powerful chief financial officer, along...

MAINE: Good Numbers.
March 3, 2003... Gov. John Baldacci's office released data last week showing state revenues for the month of January were nearly $3.7 million, or 1.6%, over projections. Year-to-date revenue is up more than $6.9 million, or 0.5%, over estimates. Despite...

MARYLAND: Anne Says GOs.
March 3, 2003... Anne Arundel County will competitively sell $218.8 million of general obligation bonds in four series on Tuesday. The sale includes refunding and new-money portions, with some of the proceeds going to pay off bond anticipation notes sold...

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Pooled Effort.
March 3, 2003... Legislation to enable a group of municipalities from the southeastern part of the state to issue bonds as a single entity to buy out the local water utility is moving rapidly through the legislature. The House passed a bill in January that...

NEW JERSEY: Port Shuffle.
March 3, 2003... Gov. James E. McGreevey last week tapped south Jersey state Sen. John Matheussen, R-Gloucester, to run the Delaware River Port Authority, ending months of internal bickering over leadership at the bi-state agency. If confirmed by the...

NEW YORK: Pension Peril.
March 3, 2003... Gov. George E. Pataki last week proposed a plan to help reduce the anticipated increase in costs of state and local pensions by $1.8 billion in the coming year. The proposal follows a report from state Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi that said...

NEW YORK: Snow Bonding.
March 3, 2003... In order to deal to help pay for one of the harshest winters in recent memory, state Assemblyman Robert Sweeney introduced a bill earlier this month that would allow municipalities to sell bonds to cover the costs of cleaning up from the rash...

PENNSYLVANIA: Rendell Sets Cuts.
March 3, 2003... In a prelude to his budget address tomorrow, Gov. Edward G. Rendell last week announced more than $210 million in spending cuts. Rendell is expected to include a plan to refinance state debt as part of his budget package. "With a $2.5...

2 North Carolina Counties Looking at Record Issues for Schools.
March 3, 2003... Faced with rapidly growing student populations and aging facilities, both Durham and Guilford counties in North Carolina are in the preliminary stages of planning school bond referendums that could mark some of the largest debt requests in...

LONG-TERM BONDS: January-February.
March 3, 2003... 2003 2002 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $52,290,200 1,578 $42,584,200 1,965 +22.8 % January 25,449,600 814 21,612,100 ...

LONG-TERM BONDS: February.
March 3, 2003... 2003 2002 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $26,840,600 764 $20,972,100 1,013 +28.0 % Development 103,800 7 222,600 24 ...

NEW-ISSUE VOLUME NOTES.
March 3, 2003... The new-issue volume tables are based on information compiled by The Bond Buyer from Thomson Financial's data base on Friday, Feb. 28, 2003. All figures are preliminary and subject to revision. Long-term bonds have final stated maturities...

LARGEST ISSUES: February 2003.
March 3, 2003... Amount Issuer Date $2,100.0 Los Angeles Unified School District, Calif., GOs Feb 21 1,659.2 New Jersey Tobacco Settlement Finance Corp. Feb 27 975.0 Massachusetts, GOs Feb 28 900.0 California,...

BOND SALES BY STATE: January-February.
March 3, 2003... 2003 2002 State Rank Volume Rank Volume Pct Chg Alabama 35 $159,700 28 $458,800 -65.2% Alaska 48 15,000 52 2,700 +455.6% Arizona 9 1,507,700 8 1,371,500 +9.9% Arkansas ...

Municipal Market Data General Obligation Yields.
March 3, 2003... Aaa Aaa (pure) (ins) Aa A Baa 2004 1.05 1.09 1.08 1.26 1.74 2008 2.44 2.52 2.50 2.82 3.44 2013 3.56 3.67 3.65 4.01 4.56 2018 4.10 4.21 4.20 4.52 5.08 2023...

Market Indicators.
March 3, 2003... Dollar amounts are in millions Day's 2003 2003 Daily Yesterday Change High Date Low Date Municipal Bond Index 110-04 +8/32 110-04 (2/28) 107-26 (1/9) 40 Average Dollar Price 101.18 ...

Municipal Market Yields.
March 3, 2003... Values at 2/28/2003 -- Basis Point Change from 2/21/2003 Aaa Aa A Baa 2004 1.05 +04 1.21 +04 1.42 +04 1.76 +04 2008 2.52 +07 2.72 +07 2.95 +07 3.22 +07 2013 3.70 +07 ...

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Yields.
March 3, 2003... Feb. 28, 2003 Feb 27, 2003 Feb. 28, 2002 Selected MIG-1/SP-1+ Notes California Rans 2 1/2s (June 03) 1.15 1.40 1.35 Los Angeles Co Trans 3s (June 03) 1.00 1.00 1.30 New York City Rans 2 1/2s (Apr 03) 1.08 ...

U.S. Securities Prices.
March 3, 2003... Prices as of 3:45 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 -- 3/27/2003 1.175/ 1.125/215 1.192 3M --...

Visible Supply.
March 3, 2003... Competitive Negotiated Total ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) Weekly Averages 2/28/03 2,442,366 5,885,436 8,327,801 2/21 2,279,544 7,215,602 9,495,146 2/14 3,294,956 5,319,675 ...

General Obligation Bond Prices for February 28, 2003.
March 3, 2003... 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 2002 (A2/A/A) 10/1/02 4% 10/1/08...

Placement Ratio.
March 3, 2003... Accts. ($000s) ($000s) (%) No. Total Amt. Sales from Placement New New Accts. New Accts. Ratio Accts. ($000s) ($000s) (%) 2003 02/2 8 20 1,064,262 1,035,292 97.3...

New-Issue Balances.
March 3, 2003... (,000 Omitted) *Since initial reoffering + Revised upward since last report Amount Date RECENT OFFERINGS Sold Balance $21,000 2/11 Hinds Co. Sch. Dist., Miss. $7,700 $505 32,245 2/25 ...

Municipal Bond Index Update.
March 3, 2003... The list of bonds used to calculate the Municipal Bond Index was revised after the February 28 pricing. The new coefficient is 1.0163. It was derived by dividing the February 28 index (110.111092) by the average converted price of the...

Municipal Bond Prices.
March 3, 2003... These 40 Bonds are evaluated and priced daily by Standard & Poor's Securities Evaluations. All figures are rounded to the nearest eighth when reported in this table. "Change in Bid" is rounded after calculation. Dollar Change ...

Municipal Bond Index.
March 3, 2003... Yesterday Previous Day Week Ago The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index 110-04 109-28 109-05 Friday, February 28, 2003 Maturity Par Call Dollar Conversion Converted Date Date Price Factor Price ...

Competitive Bond Offerings.
March 3, 2003... Monday, March 3 Centerville IA Swr Rev *605 2 pm C US Bancorp Piper Ahlers & Cooney 03-08 -- -- -- -- BQ Feb 27 Colfax-Mingo Comm SD IA GO Ref *2,800 10 am C US Bancorp Piper Ahlers & Cooney 04-17...

Competitive Note Offerings.
March 3, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Tuesday, March 4 Windsor CT GO...

Negotiated Bond Offerings.
March 3, 2003... Tentative dates for negotiated sales of $1 million or more. Please fax all pricing & award Information to 212-989-8442. Week Of March 3 Morgan Co BOE AL Cap Outlay 15,000 Morgan Keegan -- FSA -- -- -- Feb 26...

Negotiated Note Offerings.
March 3, 2003... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) LEAD MANAGER INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH FIRST APPEARED Week Of March 3 Cleveland Heights OH GO Spec Assess 4,000 A.G. Edwards -- -- -- -- -- Feb 28 ...

Sealed Bids Invited.
March 3, 2003... CALIFORNIA Official Report to The Bond Buyer Berkeley (City) $28,290,000 (Exact) Electronic bids 9 am PST Mar 18. 2003 Certificates of Participation (Building Acquisition and Improvement Projects). L.O.: Jones Hall,...

Results of Negotiated Sales.
March 3, 2003... ALABAMA Montgomery(City) Feb 26, 2003 $66,905,000 General Obligation Warrants, Series 2003A (Ambac Insured) $57,900,000. Dated Mar 1, 2003. Due May 1, 2007 to 2023. First coupon May 1, 2003. Callable May 1,...

Letter from the Editor.
March 3, 2003... Call it the perfect storm. Coming into 2003, state governments have budget gaps growing to Depression-era levels, while geopolitical turmoil, national economic conditions, and stock market volatility all combined to keep interest rates low and...

Table of Contentes.
March 3, 2003... Northeast Region 4 Connecticut 6 Delaware 8 District of Columb 10 Maine 11 Maryland 12 Massachusetts 14 New Hampshire...

Issuance Was Better by Half in 2002, With More to Come.
March 3, 2003... Boosted by plentiful refunding opportunities and a major restructuring of debt by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority that totaled $13.5 billion, issuance in the Northeast jumped nearly 50% in 2002 to $111 billion. This year,...

Fiscal Fighting Forward, Backwards, and Sideways.
March 3, 2003... In December, Connecticut found itself in the unique position of facing three budget deficits from three separate fiscal years. The state was forced to sell $222 million in bonds to finish closing an $800 million deficit from 2002 while...

Some Luck This Year, But Lots of Work Lies Ahead.
March 3, 2003... The right turn of events can make a big difference, but not always a long- lasting one. January demonstrated this in the case of Delaware.Gov. Ruth Ann Minner had already chopped some $60 million from a deficit originally projected at $95...

In Decent Shape, and Looking to Stay Its Own Boss.
March 3, 2003... Although chief financial officer Natwar M. Gandhi has acknowledged that this year will be "a little tougher" than 2002 -- itself a rough year for the District of Columbia -- he said he's determined to keep spending under control and avoid a...

Despite Warning on Credit, State-Level Issuance Seen Rising.
March 3, 2003... Maine joins Connecticut and Massachusetts as one of three states in New England, to be put on notice that the economic recession is threatening its credit rating. In November, Standard & Poor's lowered the outlook on the state's AA-plus...

For GOP Governor, GOs Are One Way to Go to Avoid Tax Hike.
March 3, 2003... Maryland public finance officials anticipate a challenging year ahead, complete with continued budget cuts, hiring freezes, and a shakedown flight for the first Republican administration in 36 years. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who took...

Worsening Situation Fails to Put the Brakes on Bonding.
March 3, 2003... In Massachusetts, budget deficits continue to grow, credit quality appears to be faltering, but bond issuance remains high. While city and state officials said they are waiting to measure the impact of promised deep cuts in state outlays,...

Trouble Around the Next Bend.
March 3, 2003... While New Hampshire will be forced to grapple with a slight budget gap in 2003, the state finds itself in a much better fiscal condition than some of its larger neighbors in the Northeast. But officials warn that trouble is peeking over the...

Debt Is Down After the Boom, But Still Needed to Plug Gap.
March 3, 2003... When New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey unveiled his $23.7 billion budget last month, he blamed the national economy and the "borrow and spend" policies of former Republican administrations for creating a $5 billion budget hole. "Our...

Another Budget Crisis, Yes. But This Time It's Special.
March 3, 2003... Buoyed by the Metropolitan Transportation Agency's $13.5 billion debt restructuring, New York issuers last year sold an unprecedented $49 billion in bonds, a 117% increase. This year may not top that figure, but budget problems and rebuilding...

Taking It From the City to the State, With Bonds Figuring Big.
March 3, 2003... In November, Pennsylvania voters elected Ed Rendell governor based on his record as a turnaround specialist. During his two terms as Philadelphia's mayor from 1992 to 2000, Rendell brought the city back from the brink of bankruptcy with help...

A Bit of Debt Abstinence in Store After a Two-Year Binge.
March 3, 2003... After two years of record debt issuance, in which the government and government agencies sold a total of nearly $12 billion in tax-exempt bonds, Puerto Rico is anticipating a relatively light year of selling bonds into the U.S. market in 2003....

Tobacco Helped Keep Budget in the Black, But Gaps Lie Ahead.
March 3, 2003... If there was one word to summarize last year's market for Rhode Island public debt, it was tobacco. In June the government, using the Rhode Island Tobacco Settlement Financing Corp., sold $685.4 million in a combined tax-exempt/taxable deal,...

Among the Thrifty Few Ready for the Lean Years.
March 3, 2003... Home to ex-hippies and the nation's only socialist congressman, Vermont has earned a reputation for a liberal bent. When it comes to managing its finances, though, state officials are as conservative as Calvinists. For the last six years,...

Transportation, Refundings Took Center Stage in 2002.
March 3, 2003... With a total debt issuance for 2002 of more than $52 billion, every state in the Southwest region except New Mexico issued more bonds last year than in 2001, with debt for transportation projects taking the largest leap, according to Thomson...

Population Boom, Fiscal Straightjacket a Tough Combination.
March 3, 2003... When it comes to economic whiplash, Arizona is near the top of the class. The tourism-oriented state was enjoying unprecedented growth and prosperity when terrorists struck the country on Sept. 11, 2001. Now it's searching high and low for...

Lawmakers Go Back to Basics: How to Pay for School.
March 3, 2003... Arkansas lawmakers will have to try to excel at the art of compromise during the current legislative session in order to hammer out a solution to the state's school finance dilemma, officials say. The state Supreme Court in November ruled...

Dealing With Steeply Sloping Revenues, This Year and Next.
March 3, 2003... Colorado, whose constitution forbids a deficit, has to cope with a revenue shortfall of about $850 million for this fiscal year while starting work on a bare-bones budget for the next. So far Gov. Bill Owens has sliced about $513 million...

Low Debt Staying Low as KDOT, Localities Face Stiff Cuts.
March 3, 2003... Kansas greeted the year with one of the lowest per-capita debt levels in the nation, a distinction unlikely to change as Gov. Kathleen Sebelius struggles with the state's worst budget crisis ever. "The coffers are empty," the Democrat told...

Following in the Wake of 'Gov. No' Has Its Advantages.
March 3, 2003... Relations between New Mexico's Legislature and its governor are expected to be much warmer this year. After eight years of battling with Republican Gary Johnson -- nicknamed "Gov. No" when it came to budget matters -- the Democratic...

The Next Big Idea: Transparent, Zero-Based Budgeting.
March 3, 2003... Faced with a projected $9.9 billion revenue shortfall and heavier expectations for public education, health care, and transportation spending, Texas officials are doing some fast dancing to get the budget on track for both the current and...

Trying to Stand Firm on Some Shaky Financial Ground.
March 3, 2003... Largely rural Oklahoma, where citizens tend to shun capital projects that require tax hikes, finally brought a nine-decade-old project to a triumphant conclusion last November. After 87 years of waiting, the state mounted a 17-foot-tall...

Drumroll, Please: The Fiscal Upswing Has Finally Begun.
March 3, 2003... After 24 months of flattened revenues that have forced the state to cut more than $700 million from already conservative budgets, Utah officials on Feb. 17 were elated to hear from budget officials that the tide may have turned on the state's...

Conservative Region Saw Slower Growth in Issuance in '02.
March 3, 2003... The Midwest saw a small increase in municipal bond issuance in 2002 following on the heels of a dramatic increase in 2001, as the conservative region defied the trend of double-digit gains seen in other parts of the country last year. ...

Exploring Menus and Pumping Up Negative Numbers.
March 3, 2003... Calling the state's fiscal situation a "crisis," Illinois' freshman Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushed back the release of the fiscal 2004 budget two months in order to allow his administration more time to craft a spending plan that eliminates a...

Bonding at the Crossroads, While Looking to 'Energize Indiana'.
March 3, 2003... Issuance for Indiana dropped in 2002 to about $320 million as the state took a break from issuing bonds for its roads program, but took advantage of low interest rates to refund outstanding debt. In recent years, the state had issued about...

First It Was the Vision Thing, Now Its Bonding With Values.
March 3, 2003... Iowa lawmakers are now haggling over Gov. Tom Vilsack's proposed $4.61 billion budget for fiscal 2004, which begins July 1. It's a budget that is balanced without any tax increases and creates a new $500 million state bonding program called the...

A New Team Looks Backward and Foward for Capital Savings.
March 3, 2003... With new leadership in the state of Michigan, from the first female governor to a largely new Senate, some of the projects under the previous leadership will be under scrutiny for cost effectiveness in the face of budget pressures. Gov....

Tough Measures Made Tougher By Memories of Flush Days.
March 3, 2003... Though most state coffers were doing well just a couple of years ago, in Minnesota every new revenue forecast added to the billion-dollar-plus budget surpluses, and even rating agency analysts were hard-pressed to explain just why the triple-A...

Using Cuts, Surcharges, and Optional Taxes to Close the Gap.
March 3, 2003... Missouri Gov. Bob Holden achieved a delicate balance in his proposed $19.2 billion budget for fiscal 2004, closing a $1 billion deficit through a mix of spending cuts, higher taxes on cigarettes and gaming, and an income surcharge on more...

Juggling for Mandated Balance as Issuance Proceeds Apace.
March 3, 2003... As Nebraska legislators continued to struggle to balance the budget early this year, the state's bond issuance for a host of sectors increased in 2002 from the previous year, furthering some development projects and taking advantage of low...