Wall St. is giving the Granite State a good bill of health. The nation’s leading rating agencies say New Hampshire is managing the recession well.
The state is set to sell $100 million dollars in bonds for a variety of capital projects, including improvements for community colleges and a new liquor store.
State Treasurer Kathy Provencher says during the economic downturn state bonds have fetched better interest rates than the state’s double AA credit.
That’s a credit to how the governor and lawmakers are managing the state’s finances.
Provencher says she’s optimistic going into the sale, but concedes she can’t be sure how the market will react.
“It’s really going to depend on the demand for municipal debt. The municipal market has been very volatile over the last 2-3 weeks, with interest rates fluctuating as much as half a percent from one day to the next, which is a lot.”
Provencher says in recent sales, the state has paid anywhere from a 3-4% interest rate to borrow money for capital projects.
The Treasurer says investors have raised concerns about the state’s modest Rainy Day fund and trouble with the public pension system.
