Fitch Rates New Hampshire $75MM GOs & $135MM GO Refunding Bonds 'AA'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. assigns an 'AA' rating to the State of New Hampshire's $75 million general obligation (GO) capital improvement bonds, 2006 series A, and approximately $135 million GO refunding bonds, 2006 series A (additional details below). Fitch also affirms the 'AA' rating on New Hampshire's approximately $644.7 million outstanding GO bonds. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The 'AA' reflects New Hampshire's economic strength and resiliency and excellent debt position. These strengths are somewhat offset by the state's dependence on volatile taxes. After a relatively brief downturn earlier this decade, job and healthier income growth have returned, and following several years of operating deficits earlier in the decade, New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). closed with moderate surpluses since fiscal 2004, which may be partially drawn upon through fiscal 2007. New Hampshire has an excellent debt position, with debt amortizing quickly and all debt being GO or guaranteed, except for turnpike revenue bonds. Following this issuance of new money bonds, net tax-supported debt of $712.9 million equates to only 1.4% of 2005 personal income, which somewhat reflects the historically limited role of state government. New Hampshire's tax structure, specifically its lack of an income or general sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. , differentiates it from all other states, except Alaska, and is a key feature of its economy. The state relies on business, real estate, excise taxes excise taxes, governmental levies on specific goods produced and consumed inside a country. They differ from tariffs, which usually apply only to foreign-made goods, and from sales taxes, which typically apply to all commodities other than those specifically exempted. , and a statewide property tax that replaced some local taxes and is dedicated solely to education. This unique tax structure is volatile, especially taxes on business profits, which are vulnerable to swings in the business cycle, and on real estate transfers, which are sensitive to housing market conditions. The recessions of the early 1990s and the first few years of this decade led to operating deficits; however, the state rebounded to post moderate budgetary surpluses since fiscal 2004. Fiscal 2005 revenue collections were led, as in fiscal 2004, by strong business and real estate transfer tax collections. Fiscal 2006 business tax collections continued the trend and were nearly 10% over projections, yet the real estate transfer tax performance weakened, dropping by a percent from fiscal 2005 levels. Total general and education fund revenues for fiscal 2007 are conservatively estimated to rise 1.4% from fiscal 2006. The real estate transfer tax, which made up 7% of revenues in fiscal 2006, is down 13% versus an estimate through November 2006; however, the business tax is expected to beat the conservative annual forecast. The state anticipates ending the fiscal 2006-2007 biennium bi·en·ni·um n. pl. bi·en·ni·ums or bi·en·ni·a A two-year period. [Latin : bi-, two; see bi-1 + annus, year; see at- with a $69 million rainy day fund balance or 3.1% of estimated revenues. The state continues to address State Supreme Court decisions regarding primary and secondary education. Most recently, the court gave the state until the end of the 2007 legislature, effectively June 2007, to enact a definition of an adequate education. The additional cost, if any, associated with a definition is not yet known. In 1997 the court placed the responsibility for adequate education on the state. The state responded with the statewide property tax, increases in various taxes, including cigarette and real estate, and a new car rental tax, among other revenue enhancements. New Hampshire is a prosperous state that has shifted rapidly from manufacturing to services, as its economy has become more like the nation's. The state's population, job, and income growth generally have outpaced New England's since 1980, as the economy continues to benefit from the expansion of Boston suburbs into New Hampshire and growth in the trade, transportation, and utilities and services sectors. The state has experienced overall job growth the last two years - 1.5% in 2004 and 1.2% in 2005 - which has continued into 2006, up 1% in October 2006 compared to October 2005. Population has grown 5.9% since 2000, more than double New England's 2.3% and ahead of the nation's 5.3%. While historically wealthier than neighboring Vermont and Maine, by 1982 New Hampshire became wealthier than the nation for the first time. Per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. personal income, just 91% of the nation's in 1975, rapidly ascended to nearly 111% of the U.S. level by 1989. Per capita income Noun 1. per capita income - the total national income divided by the number of people in the nation income - the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time for 2005 was 109.7% of the nation's, ranking New Hampshire sixth among the states. The $75 million in new money bonds will sell competitively on Dec. 13 and are due June 1, 2008-2026 and callable Callable Applies mainly to convertible securities. Redeemable by the issuer before the scheduled maturity under specific conditions and at a stated price, which usually begins at a premium to par and declines annually. beginning June 1, 2016 at par plus accrued interest Accrued Interest The interest that has accumulated on a bond since the last interest payment up to but not including the settlement date. There are two methods for calculating accrued interest: 1) 360-day year method, used for corporate and municipal bonds. . The estimated $135 million in refunding bonds will sell through negotiation with a syndicate led by Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. & Company on Dec. 14. Although still subject to change, the refunding bonds are currently scheduled to be due Oct. 15, 2008-2026 and callable beginning Oct. 15, 2016 at par plus accrued interest. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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