Massachusetts

Federal threats to grants and the tax exemption continue to push universities to the bond market. This week, it was MIT, Yale, and Suffolk University's turn.

Fresh off the heels of its rebrand from Lifespan, Brown University Health is prepared to add to the size of its planned borrowing if rates are favorable.

Harvard University braved the most volatile market in years this week to price a $750 million taxable deal. Princeton is hot on its heels. 

Northeastern University plans to sell municipal bonds to help replace its 115-year-old Matthews Arena, long-ago home of the Boston Bruins and Celtics.

The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust has seen higher demand from local utilities for loans because of climate change threats and clean water regulations. 

The muni market saw $507.585 billion of debt issued in 2024, up 31.8% from $385.061 in 2023. This surpasses the previous record of $484.601 billion in 2020 by more than $20 billion, per LSEG data.

Muni mutual funds saw outflows after 23 weeks of inflows as LSEG Lipper reported investors pulled $316.2 million for the week ending Dec. 11. High-yield municipal bond funds, though, saw inflows of $192.3 million.

Mega projects in Boston and Philadelphia top the list.

Bonds will finance construction of the South Coast Rail Project, which will restore commuter rail service between Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.

Massachusetts drew multiple bidders for all four tranches when it sold $850 million of general obligation bonds competitively last week.