Research & Gradings
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Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Tesla founder Elon Musk both agree when it comes to California's $77 billion high-speed rail project—the project is going to jump the tracks.
This joint public/private venture between NASA and SpaceX begins a new chapter in space exploration. How will this effect future commercial demands in space?
In voting conducted by institutional investors, The 2018 All-Star Deal of the Year was awarded to the New York Transportation Development Corporation for the Delta Airlines, Inc - LaGuardia Airport Terminals C&D Redevelopment Project.
Clean energy needs to include reliability requirement as new technology advances. Transformation of the energy mix used in electricity generation globally has been focused on development of renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar, but the major stumbling block has remained reliability.
"The American Dream Mall was a nightmare to begin with and it is never going to work in the new normal," according to a senior portfolio manager in Boston. Indeed. The American Dream Mall is the poster child for what went wrong during the last bull market in high-yield municipal bond: Excessive amounts of debt; Bloated feasibility studies; Revenue streams that are thin and tenuous. Moreover, there is a case being made that retail shopping centers and malls were never going to work. "If there is any lesson from the COVID-19 crisis it's that people are shifting to shopping on the internet," a portfolio manager from New York said. "Amazon is doing a record business."
The High Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio managers basked in the warm sunshine of steady credit quality while high-yield municipal bond funds saw massive outflows. Mark Paris, CIO, Head of Municipals at Invesco, hosted an investor call on March 30, 2020. Eddie Bernhardt, head of managed accounts joined him for the presentation. Invesco purchased Rochester Funds last year and 2019 was a period of consolidation after the acquisition. The newly combined entity has over $60 bln. in Municipal Assets Under Management. Mr. Paris heads up a municipal bond team that includes 15 portfolio managers including Jim Phillips, Jack Connelly and Scott Cottier. Invesco's municipal credit research is lead by Mark Gilley, CFA (27 years of experience) and the team includes Angela Uttaro, Mark Stockwell, Mary Jane Minier, and Robert Bertucci. The Quant Research & Portfolio Analytics are lead by Casey Ryan and Michal Milewski. Invesco emphasized the demand for tax-exempt municipal bonds had experienced unprecedented growth. The reasons for the record weekly inflows were due to a myriad of factors, starting with the Trump Tax-Reform's elimination of State and Local Tax Deductions. Falling interest rates and collapsing credit spreads contributed to a strong performance for municipal bond funds.
Economic development related to transportation in and around Washington, D.C. underscores the tremendous limitations and challenges facing the area.
Fitch Ratings assigned a 'BBB+' rating to the New York City Industrial Development Agency's (NYC IDA) $923 million PILOT Revenue Refunding Bonds,Series 2020, Yankee Stadium Project. Fitch has also affirmed the 'BBB+' rating on the Series 2006 and 2009 bonds, as well as the NYCIDA's Series 2006 and 2009 Rental Revenue Bonds, issued on behalf of Yankee Stadium LLC (StadCo). The Rating Outlook is Stable. The transaction will refund $863 million Series 2006 and 2009 bonds, generating more than $200 million in present value savings.
S&P Global Ratings placed 98 ratings on most U.S. airports and airport-related obligations on CreditWatch with negative implications, affecting 63 different obligors. This week, SRG had a chance to talk with Kurt E. Forsgren, S&P Global transportation sector leader and senior credit analyst on Airports.
A Blue Ribbon Committee of Housing Policy leaders released a COVID-19 Crisis report on August 7 that estimates 30 to 40 million Americans may face eviction over the next several months.
Puerto Rico's elections were a mess. On Sunday, August 9, Puerto Rico was forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of ballots, as officials called on the president of the Commonwealth's elections commissioner Juan Ernesto Davila to resign. The primaries for voting centers that had not received ballots by early Sunday afternoon were expected to be rescheduled, while voting would continue elsewhere, the commission said.
Aristotle wrote in "Politics" that the purpose of political community is not living, but living well. One measure of how well a political community is living is the quality of the opportunity for education. Clearly, the COVID-19 crisis has disrupted the traditional classroom learning model. America's school system failed the teachers, students and parents.
Smith's Research & Gradings focuses on the people, sectors and news that matter the most to you. Smith's analysis is an indispensable part of Wall Street and the world's capital markets. Our approach was inspired by the need for a consistent analytical approach across all asset classes.
Let a subscription to The Global Economic Doctor provide you with access to sovereign news, analysis and insights. Concise and powerful, the Global Economic Doctor spans the globe, giving you a read on how today’s market developments and key players are impacting your business around the planet.
Smith's Research & Gradings focuses on the people, sectors and news that matter the most to you. Smith's analysis is an indispensable part of Wall Street and the world's capital markets. Our approach was inspired by the need for a consistent analytical approach across all asset classes. Smith's Gradings are a time-tested, performance proven, and principles-based approach to risk. We go beyond the numbers to connect the dots for the world's decision makers. We can enhance the performance of investments in assets around the globe, while helping to ensure the safety of portfolios here at home.
Let a subscription to The Global Economic Doctor provide you with access to sovereign news, analysis and insights. Concise and powerful, the Global Economic Doctor spans the globe, giving you a read on how today’s market developments and key players are impacting your business around the planet.