Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy began this week hopeful that his two biggest allies in the face of Russia’s invasion would finally approve financial aid packages worth a total of $115bn. He ended it with little to show for it. Fraying support for Kyiv in Washington and Brussels coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin vowing to attack
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A proposed deal for a massive mixed-used arena project in Alexandria, Virginia, would be mostly financed through $1.05 billion in project revenue bonds issued by the newly named Virginia Stadium Authority. Details and hardening local opposition are emerging regarding the development of a 12-acre site in Potomac Yard, a former rail hub that straddles Arlington
A tough year for Wall Street municipal underwriting firms culminated Thursday with Citigroup’s announcement it would exit the business, a stunning move that market participants warned would raise state and city financing costs and that Citi would come to regret as headwinds calm and business rebounds. “It’s a major disappointment,” said Matt Fabian, a partner
S&P Global Ratings revised California’s rating outlook to stable from positive Friday, citing the state’s projected $68 billion multi-year deficit, revenue uncertainties and economic conditions. The state holds ratings of AA-minus from S&P, AA from Fitch Ratings and Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service. The state also has a stable outlook from Fitch. Moody’s revised the
Connecticut is set to price $840 million of general obligation bonds next week, the state’s last issuance of a year with landmark fiscal policy decisions. The state, which renewed fiscal responsibility measures, lowered income taxes and maintained strong economic metrics, kept its solid ratings from all four agencies for the upcoming deal. “Management in Connecticut,
Noel Hendrickson/Getty Images After a year full of record-high interest rates and home prices, experts say there are signs of improvement for the housing market in 2024. In December, the average mortgage rates dropped below 7% for the first time since August and after an 8% peak in October, which pushed housing costs to the
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bond parties presented the court with written expert testimony supporting their claim the Oversight Board’s proposed plan of adjustment assumptions underestimate Puerto Rico’s economic future and overestimate PREPA’s future expenses. The testimony could impact U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s ruling on the plan, according to an attorney not
The Spanish town of Marbella, on the country’s south coast, is popular among overseas buyers. Artur Debat | Moment | Getty Images There are three European countries that are “perennial favorites” for people to buy a vacation home, according to Kate Everett-Allen, a partner at real estate firm Knight Frank. France, Italy and Spain all
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. EU leaders agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine at a charged summit on Thursday, after Hungary’s prime minister relented in his opposition to the historic step for the war-torn country. The decision marks
Citigroup will close its municipal division by the end of the first quarter of 2024, leaving behind a historic tenure in a market it once dominated in both underwriting and secondary market-making. The firm decided to “wind down our municipal underwriting and market-making activities” after a “broad-based review” of its muni business, according to a
KTSDesign | Science Photo Library | Getty Images It’s arguably the biggest stock story of 2023: a small number of giant technology companies now make up a very large part of big indexes like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100. Five companies (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, and Alphabet) make up about 25% of the S&P 500. Six
A view of clouds over Manhattan skyline in New York, United States on August 08, 2023. (Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Manhattan rents fell for the first time in over two years, as the supply of empty apartments grew and renters held out for
Triple-A municipal bond yields fell a few basis points Wednesday following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates and signal that only three rate cuts were likely in 2024, which sent U.S. Treasury yields plummeting down more than a quarter point on the short end while equities rallied and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. BP said it had dismissed Bernard Looney, its former chief executive, who would forfeit as much as £32.4mn in pay after committing “serious misconduct” related to failing to disclose past relationships with colleagues. Looney stepped
Federal highway officials Wednesday defended the seemingly slow rollout of a high-profile federally funded program to create a national network of electric vehicle chargers. Ohio last week opened what is so far the nation’s first — and only — electric vehicle charging station funded through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. New York is
The Federal Reserve announced it will leave interest rates unchanged Wednesday, in a move that many believe will conclude the central bank’s rate hike cycle and set the stage for rate cuts in the year ahead. The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times since March 2022 — the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s. The
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bond parties argued in appeals court briefs that their trust agreement clearly gives them a lien on incoming revenues and supports their claim for the $8.5 billion pre-bankruptcy principal rather than the $2.4 billion set by a lower court judge. The parties argued about the language needed to establish a
An aerial view of existing homes near new homes under construction (UPPER R) in the Chatsworth neighborhood on September 08, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images Homeowners looking to refinance are finding savings after mortgage rates dropped again last week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Accounting & Consulting services myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. KPMG has underscored its position as laggard of the Big Four after it posted the slowest growth in global sales among the accountancy and consulting firms during the latest financial year. The smallest
Municipals were mostly steady to a touch softer in secondary trading while newly upgraded gilt-edged Ohio upsized its general obligation refunding deal and repriced to lower yields. U.S. Treasuries improved on the day following cooler inflation data that many participants said would not move the needle on the Federal Reserve’s rates decision Wednesday. Triple-A yields