The City of Portland held its auction for its latest $11.4 million or so in bonds yesterday. The money will be used to set up a new city archives in a building at Portland State. According to the official auction site, the winner was Bank of America, who agreed to buy the bonds (i.e., lend the money to the city, in this case over 20 years) at 4.27 percent interest. B of A apparently has specified that the city must buy bond insurance through an insurance outfit known as MBIA.
The total interest cost will be $6,196,598.41. Not to mention whatever the bond insurance premium will be, plus another nice fee for the city's outside bond lawyers. Making those fancy archives an ever-more-expensive proposition.
Comments (6)
according to the merc Sten wants to spend another 30m of tax money on a homeless shelter in old town. Jack, do you know were this money is allocated from?
It would be interesting to know what the interest rate would've been without the insurance. Interest rate is an indicator of how financially risky an organization, such as the city, is for debt repayment. I guess it would be interesting to see exactly what the insurance premium is as another indicator of how insurers rate the city's debt level relative to taxing power. Portland: "The city deep in hawk".
what the interest rate would've been without the insurance
It's odd -- there was at least one other bid that apparently did not specify the insurance, with a similar interest rate, and yet B of A was declared the "winner." Moody's rated these bonds Aa1 on Sep. 27 -- no mention of the insurance in the writeup.
Of course, bond ratings rate only whether the bondholders will get repaid -- NOT what kind of city it will be to live in when all available funds are being used to pay debt.
To answer the question from Ambrose Moody's highest rating is AAA. It's second highest rating is AA1, which is what Portland has. The ratings for investment grade municiple bonds are in order:
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (6)
according to the merc Sten wants to spend another 30m of tax money on a homeless shelter in old town. Jack, do you know were this money is allocated from?
Posted by Tmose | October 3, 2007 1:40 PM
It would be interesting to know what the interest rate would've been without the insurance. Interest rate is an indicator of how financially risky an organization, such as the city, is for debt repayment. I guess it would be interesting to see exactly what the insurance premium is as another indicator of how insurers rate the city's debt level relative to taxing power. Portland: "The city deep in hawk".
Posted by Bob Clark | October 3, 2007 3:46 PM
Do you know if the city still has its much-vaunted AAA bond rating?
Posted by Ambrose Burnside | October 3, 2007 4:12 PM
what the interest rate would've been without the insurance
It's odd -- there was at least one other bid that apparently did not specify the insurance, with a similar interest rate, and yet B of A was declared the "winner." Moody's rated these bonds Aa1 on Sep. 27 -- no mention of the insurance in the writeup.
Of course, bond ratings rate only whether the bondholders will get repaid -- NOT what kind of city it will be to live in when all available funds are being used to pay debt.
Posted by Jack Bog | October 3, 2007 5:17 PM
To answer the question from Ambrose Moody's highest rating is AAA. It's second highest rating is AA1, which is what Portland has. The ratings for investment grade municiple bonds are in order:
AAA, Aa1, Aa2, Aa3, A1, A2, A3, Baa1, Baa2,
and Baa3.
Personally I like the idea of a City having a BAAAAAA rating. Sounds sort of sheep like.
Greg C
Posted by Greg C | October 4, 2007 12:44 PM
Thank you for the information, Mr. Greg C.
Posted by Gen. Ambrose Burnside, Ret. | October 4, 2007 3:08 PM