Caitlin Devitt

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last week signed into law a measure that will allow Highland Park to refinance and provide additional security for its outstanding financial recovery bonds.

CHICAGO - Ann Arbor in on track to become the first city in Michigan to launch a bond-backed energy efficiency program authorized in state legislation adopted last year.

CHICAGO - With a sizable bond issue coming, Fitch Ratings hit Cook County, Ill., with a downgrade to AA-minus from AA and revised its outlook to negative at the lower rating, warning that the nation's second-largest county faces persistent fiscal challenges.

CHICAGO - Holders of $18 million of unrated debt issued for a large suburban Cincinnati mall are working to extend a forbearance agreement with the project's owners, who have failed to make debt service payments on the bonds since 2008.

CHICAGO - A new independent study on a controversial plan to build a publicly funded bridge in Michigan says proposed bond covenants would protect state taxpayers if toll revenues fall short of expectations, but that interest rate costs could push the price tag past $4 billion.

Moody’s Investors Service last week affirmed its Aa2 on Nebraska’s outstanding certificates of participation, which are issued to finance a variety of leases and equipment purchases for state agencies.

U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke last week offered a bill that would require all federal taxes paid in Detroit to be reinvested back into the city for the next five years.

Members of the Michigan Legislature’s Senate Economic Development Committee said they would extend a series of hearings on whether to advance a plan to build a $3.8 billion, publicly funded bridge spanning the busy trade route between Detroit and Canada.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is expected to hand over management of a high-profile, $528 million light-rail project to the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

CHICAGO - Ohio will take competitive bids Wednesday on $300 million of general obligation bonds to finance capital projects for schools across the state.

CHICAGO - In another move aimed at helping fiscally stressed municipalities enter the bond market, Michigan lawmakers have sent Gov. Rick Snyder legislation that would allow them to refinance outstanding financial recovery debt.

CHICAGO - Detroit Public Schools hopes to enter the market in the next two weeks to float a deficit bond issue that would eliminate two-thirds of its red ink.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency last week approved the issuance of $15.5 million of tax-exempt multifamily bonds that will be used to renovate affordable housing properties in several counties across the state.

North Dakota said last week it has reached a new record high in daily oil production. Production reached 423,550 barrels a day, according to the Department of Mineral Resources.

Wayne County officials will break ground Thursday morning on a new $300 million, mostly bond-financed lockup in downtown Detroit.

Fitch Ratings downgraded to A from A-plus its rating on Reid Hospital and Health Services last week, warning that the Richmond, Ind., facility continues to suffer from operating losses. Fitch revised the outlook to stable from negative.

CHICAGO - A nursing home in Gary, Ind., has skipped monthly payments that fund debt service since last March, forcing the bond trustee to dip into a reserve account to cover a Sept. 1 interest payment.

CHICAGO - Michael Stampfler, the emergency manager of Pontiac, Mich., resigned Friday after 14 months, calling the job a "sad and almost hopeless endeavor" and warning that bankruptcy or merger are the only real solutions for the troubled Detroit suburb.

CHICAGO - The Ohio State University board this week will consider a proposal to privatize its parking system for an upfront payment from a private operator.

CHICAGO - Some struggling development districts around Omaha have turned to Chapter 9 bankruptcy as a way to restructure debt as they wait out an ailing housing market.