Kyle Glazier

Creditworthiness requirements and a new debt-subordination feature are likely to shield both taxpayers and private activity bond investors under the expanded Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, according to a new white paper out from infrastructure firm HNTB.

WASHINGTON - Housing starts fell 1.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 746,000 in July from a revised estimate of 754,000 in June, originally reported as 760,000, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Several Maryland state legislators are pushing for a constitutional amendment allowing the state to put transportation packages and their related bonds on statewide ballots.

Industrial production rose 0.6% in July, while capacity use increased to 79.3%, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

Business inventories rose 0.1% to $1,580.3 billion in June, while sales fell 1.1% to $1,229.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Retail sales rose 0.8% to $403.9 billion in July after declining a revised 0.7% in June, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Federal and state officials are seeking to overhaul the leadership of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority amid pending legislation that would restructure the board of the bond-issuing authority.

The federal government ran a $69.6 billion budget deficit in July after posting an unrevised $59.7 billion deficit the previous month, the Treasury Department reported Friday.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., announced this week that he has introduced legislation that would hand control of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to Virginia.

WASHINGTON - Sales of merchant wholesalers fell 1.4% to $402.9 billion in June after dropping a revised 1.1% in May, originally reported as a 0.8% decline, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. international trade deficit was $42.9 billion in June, a 10.7% drop from the revised $48.0 billion deficit for May, originally reported as $48.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

These reduced forecasts are likely to impair the ability of Pocahontas 895 to service the bank and Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans used to fund the road's development.

WASHINGTON - Consumer credit increased by $6.5 billion, or 3.0%, in June to $2.577.4 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

The transportation infrastructure funding crisis facing governments at all levels is providing a "silver lining" in finance innovation as state governments are turning increasingly to such new tactics as variable-rate fuel taxes and mileage-based user fees, according to a report released this week by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Maryland will issue $653 million in tax-exempt and taxable debt, including over $15 million of direct-pay qualified zone academy bonds Aug. 1. Maryland Treasurer Nancy Kopp expects a good result just weeks after the state's triple-A rating was reaffirmed by all three credit agencies.

Franchise strength, offset by leverage, is the most important component of Fitch airport ratings, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. The study concludes an 8 month review of Fitch's airport portfolio.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is encouraging states and cities to submit letters of interest for an available $1.7 billion under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan program, which LaHood said could ultimately help leverage $50 billion in transportation investment.

Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.5% in the second quarter of 2012, according to the advance estimate released by the Commerce Department Friday.

A new Government Accountability Office study examining bus rapid transit concludes that cities with limited funding sources and no major congestion issues may find high-cost features worthwhile only if economic development is a major goal of the bus line.

Amtrak's roughly $7 billion master plan for a complete overhaul of Washington D.C.'s Union Station will likely involve a large collaborative effort mixing public and private funding sources, according to a company spokesman and industry experts.