Muni Think

This week we review our proprietary DIVER Geo Score, highlight the strongest and weakest States as well as provide you a link to get the scores themselves. We also focus on the divergent economies of Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

This week we examine whether private sector amateur economists are any better at predictions than the professionals.

Which local governments might use the bankruptcy option if Gov. Bruce Rauner’s bankruptcy bill is enacted?

Politics, public policy and public interest are the fundamental building blocks for public private partnerships in infrastructure.

There are compelling reasons to convert to a decimal system for rating municipal bonds from the current alpha-numeric rating scheme.

Continuing claims data and a recent Washington Post column shed light on economic dispersion around the nation. We also review the effectiveness of the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation program and the Government Development Bank’s index of Puerto Rico’s economic health.

Signals from the Philly Fed Index show an increase in the dispersion of economic health among the States.

The Obama administration's proposal to create a new class of tax-exempt debt that is permitted within the context and requirements of public private partnership is a hopeful sign of a way forward in creating a new hybrid infrastructure financing model.

Our recently released proprietary DIVER Geo Score rank the strongest and weakest States, and show the Garden State, which once had one of the strongest state economies in the nation, has lagged.

This week, we chart the most recent State economic data from the Philly Fed, respond to a reader inquiry regarding our previous discussion of SLGS, and highlight a little noticed piece of Puerto Rico news from last week.