Caitlin Devitt

As promised, Fitch Ratings Monday dropped Detroit to D from C a day ahead of the city's expected default on its general obligation bond payments.

Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, who oversees Detroit’s bankruptcy case, will hear arguments over the legality of the state’s emergency management law as well as other issues Wednesday.

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr said last week he wants to freeze the city's two pension funds by the end of the year and shift employees into a 401(k)-style plan.

Oakland County, Mich. said time and money -- not fear of a Detroit penalty -- drove its decision to do its first-ever private placement, on a long-planned $350 million general obligation refunding.

White House officials announced they are freeing up $300 million of federal funds for Detroit to tell the rest of the country the Obama administration believes in the city's future.

Detroit will default on its October 1 general obligation bond payments, making it one of the largest cities to default on such a payment since the Great Depression.

After a preliminary review, Michigan declared that no financial emergency exists in the East Detroit school district.

Columbus, Ohio-based law firm Bricker & Eckler LLP has hired a new attorney, Catherine Swartz, for its public finance group.

Standard & Poor's revised its outlook to negative on Western Michigan University Board of Trustees, warning that the university faces growing pressure from its debt load.

CHICAGO — A key bankruptcy hearing on Detroit’s proposed settlement with interest-rate swap counterparties set for this week was delayed Monday to allow negotiations with bond insurers and other creditors to continue.

Detroit is expected to ask the judge overseeing its bankruptcy to safeguard a revenue source it wants to use to back debt for repairs to its notoriously broken down public lighting system.

Michigan needs to play a bigger role in Detroit's recovery, and help the city access the capital markets, experts told the Michigan Municipal League's annual meeting.

Detroit's attorneys renewed arguments about the need for speed in its Chapter 9 case Thursday, telling the judge the city needs to know soon if it will officially be afforded bankruptcy protection.

As one of the few major museums owned by a municipality, the Detroit Institute of Arts is in the crossfire of the largest municipal bankruptcy, says director Graham Beal.

Local Michigan issuers continued to trickle back into the market Tuesday, with the triple-A rated city of Troy paying anywhere from 50 to 100 basis points more than similarly rated debt.

The financial strains facing Michigan's school districts continued to mount in fiscal 2013, with a near-record number reporting deficits, inspiring new state initiatives to get a grip on the problem.

Omaha, Neb. lost its prized triple-A rating from Standard & Poor's and saw a negative outlook revision from Moody's due to the city's large unfunded pension obligation.

After more than a month of nothing, deals are starting to flow again for Michigan local issuers, as Genesee County tested the market Monday with $35 million of GO debt.

Warren Buffett's bond insurance firm Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp. made its first appearance in the Detroit bankruptcy as the city filed objections to creditors' requests.

Indiana University Health, the state's largest health care system, announced Sept. 11 that it will lay off 800 employees by the end of the year to save money.