Though the fortunes of state pension plans made a 180-degree turn as the stock market fell this year, only a handful appear to be at risk of insolvency over the next few decades. “Most public plans are fragile, not distressed,” said Anthony Randazzo, executive director of Equable, a bipartisan non-profit that works with public retirement
Riders are not returning to New York City’s public transportation system as fast as expected and this may place the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in a difficult financial position as federal funds dry up, according to a report. Even as the drop in riders has left revenue well below pre-pandemic levels of 2019, the MTA has
The European Central Bank has raised interest rates by half a percentage point, pledging to prevent surging borrowing costs from sparking a eurozone debt crisis amid political turmoil in Italy and the resignation of prime minister Mario Draghi. It was the first ECB rate rise for more than a decade and twice the size of
The evolution of a historic home informs its present in myriad ways. Claremont Country Estate, classified as a New Zealand historic building, was built in 1890 for George Hampton Rhodes, a member of a prominent family that had extensive land holdings in Canterbury. Among their varied professions were livestock ranching, investment, manufacturing, shipping and politics.
All municipal bond insurers wrapped $18.306 billion in the first half of 2022, a decrease from the $20.842 billion of deals done in the first six months of 2021, according to Refinitiv data, but the overall insured market rate was 8.8%, higher than the 8.4% for the first half of 2021. The figures align with the
Everyone in the UK, it seems, is angry about their pay. Rail strikes are set to escalate over the summer. Bus drivers, refuse collectors and baggage handlers have staged walkouts across the country; more than 100,000 postal workers at the Royal Mail Group have voted to follow suit. In the public sector, unions representing teachers
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board said it opposes a just-enacted law that walks back some pro-employer rules put in place five years ago and demanded the governor suspend enforcement of it, arguing it will harm economic growth and island revenues. Gov. Pedro Pierluisi rejected the board’s request to publicly announce suspension of Act 41’s enforcement,
“Turtle-esque” may not be a common adjective to describe a piece of property, but in the case of this coastal Hawaiian estate, it is a fitting descriptor. Named Honu Hale, or Turtle House, the oceanfront home located in the heart of Napili on the western shores of Maui shares many traits with its shelled namesake,
Britain needs new economic rules of thumb. The old norms and assumptions are not remotely adequate for a world with severe shocks to the supply of gas and other commodities, high inflation and extremely low rates of underlying productivity growth. In the past, the shortcuts most economists have used to describe a complex and dynamic
The Asian Development Bank has cut its growth forecast for China due to concerns over the country’s zero-Covid approach and strict lockdowns, which put even more pressure on the real estate sector. Gross domestic product growth for the world’s second largest economy is expected to be at 4% in 2022, down from an earlier estimate
Years ago, after I received some negative feedback at work, my husband Laurence told me something that stuck with me: when we receive criticism, we go through three stages. The first, he said, with apologies for the language, is, “Fuck you.” The second is “I suck.” And the third is “Let’s make it better.” I
Municipals were steady to firmer in spots in lighter secondary trading amid an active primary while U.S. Treasuries were range-bound and equities were in the black. Muni to UST ratios were at 62% in five years, 80% in 10 years and 95% in 30 years, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. read. ICE Data Services
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will continue its efforts to improve post-trade transparency, as it plans to discuss a potential request for comment on Rule G-47 on time of trade disclosures during its quarterly meeting July 27-28. “The Board will discuss the status of its ongoing retrospective rule review and consider authorizing a new request
Climate mitigation efforts in cities with high risks of flooding will pay less in bond and insurance premiums if measures are taken to curb such activity. That’s according to a recent paper by Anya Nakhmurina, assistant professor of accounting at Yale School of Management and Shirley Lu, assistant professor at Harvard Business School’s accounting and
Hospitals will need to raise rates, cut costs and implement “transformational” change to combat inflationary-driven pressures that are damaging margins and setting back the sector’s COVID-19 pandemic recovery, according to a Fitch Ratings report. “Not-for-profit hospital operating margins, which declined during the pandemic, will see further erosion due to ongoing inflationary pressures of elevated labor,
Existing home sales dropped for the fifth straight month in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three out of four major U.S. regions experienced month-over-month sales declines and one region held steady. Year-over-year sales sank in all four regions. Total existing home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops,
Doom, gloom, fear and uncertainty have darkened the bright landscape of domestic real estate. Rising mortgage rates and inflation have dampened the enthusiasm of would-be homebuyers and narrowed the outlook of once-confident sellers. But experienced real estate professionals in Manhattan and coastal Orange County, California, predict healthy real estate markets, especially at the high end.
Prices for existing U.S. homes extended their climb in June, with the median rising to a record despite the fifth straight month of falling sales. The data indicate higher mortgage rates are dampening homebuyer interest, though not enough to restrain prices. The average price of existing homes sold in June grew to $416,000, a 13.4%
Fresh off a whirlwind of visits to investors and meetings with rating agencies, Florida officials are confident the state’s finances will remain in good shape no matter what the future holds. In a yearly deep dive into its finances, Florida officials met with analysts at Moody’s Investors Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings as
To keep up with the surging cost of living, consumers are spending more and saving less — and rising interest rates aren’t helping the matter. Next week, the Federal Reserve likely will raise rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point, although some on Wall Street still think it could opt for a full percentage point increase.
Despite resolving the largest bankruptcy in municipal market history, issues with the local government and questions over economic growth cloud Puerto Rico’s future, analysts and Oversight Board officials say. The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act helped restructure Puerto Rico’s debt and made some progress in budget reform, Center for a New Economy