Kyle Glazier

Congressional staffers and finance experts speaking at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Washington Briefing said the outlook for highway funding is more uncertain than ever, while two transport-oriented lawmakers vowed to work across the aisle to make sure state and local officials have federal support.

Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the preliminary estimate released by the Commerce Department Thursday.

Two Democrats in the Senate who influence transportation policy have introduced legislation to create the American Infrastructure Investment Fund, a $10 billion infrastructure bank.

Moody's Investors Service announced Wednesday that it has changed its outlook for the airport sector to stable from negative, where it had been since August 2008.

New orders for manufactured durable goods fell $11.8 billion or 5.2% to $217 billion in January, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Maryland will sell nearly $700 million of triple-A rated general obligation bonds, and could come to market just days after sharp federal cuts hit the state.

Sales of new single-family houses rocketed 15.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000 in January, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The sequestration cuts scheduled to take effect March 1 could throw the muni market into uncertainty and slam the air transport sector, according to market groups and public officials.

The Virginia General Assembly gave final approval on Saturday to legislation that is projected to raise more than $800 million for transportation over the next five years.

Virginia is poised to enact a funding bill that raises sales taxes but slashes fuel taxes to create $200 million of new transportation revenue each year that could be used for bonding.

Lotteries are a key source of revenue for 44 states nationwide, but players' evolving tastes and record-low interest rates have contributed to put lotteries in a precarious position, according to the head of the industry's leading interest group.

President Obama's proposal for a Build-America-Bonds-like program for infrastructure has its roots in a proposal by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and some infrastructure analysts say it represents a pro-business pivot from the White House.

A new Reason Foundation study analyzing road trends over the past two decades challenges claims of "crumbling infrastructure," which have been used by transportation advocates and policymakers as justification for everything from higher taxes to new or expanded bond programs.

Existing home sales rose 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted 4.92 million-unit rate in January, following a revised 4.90 million rate in December, the National Association of Realtors announced Thursday.

Though the U.S. fiscal position was looking up a bit since the December meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee became increasingly wary about the effects of new asset purchases, according to the minutes of the committee's Jan. 29-30 meeting, released Wednesday.

Housing starts fell 8.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000 in January from a revised level of 973,000 the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded to B2 from Aaa the rating of $1.6 million of outstanding taxable multifamily housing revenue bonds issued by the Harrisonburg, Va., Redevelopment & Housing Authority in 2001.

Federal, state and local departments of transportation have so far obligated $7 billion in federal highway funds during fiscal year 2013, a 56% increase over the same period last year, according to a new report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

Delaware will sell $340 million of triple-A rated general obligation tax-exempt debt in two transactions next week, pricing $115 million by negotiated deal and $225 million by competitive bidding.

Industrial production dipped 0.1% in January after rising a revised 0.4% the previous month, while capacity utilization ticked down to 79.1% from a revised 79.3%, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.