Kyle Glazier

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.

New orders for manufactured durable goods rose $3.4 billion or 1.6% to $221.6 billion in June, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Sales of new single-family houses fell 8.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 350,000 in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Sussex County board member Eric Fly voiced his concern over the process and the plan itself, "The whole process is backwards. VDOT isn't going to give the public any time to voice their opinion prior to submitting their final application to the Federal Highway Administration. They clearly know that the public is against the idea and are therefore trying to jam it through before any public comment.

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced $787 million in grants to 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for 255 projects that will upgrade or replace mass transit infrastructure.

The recently approved Chicago Infrastructure Trust won't replace long-term debt financing, but will allow the city to avoid the controversial act of privatizing public infrastructure, Mayor Rahm Emanuel told guests at a Washington D.C. think tank on Friday.

Lifting the more than 100 year-old federal law restricting the height of buildings in the District of Columbia would eventually expand the city's "very limited tax base," D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi told a House subcommittee.

Existing home sales fell 5.4% in June to a seasonally adjusted 4.37 million-unit rate, after an upwardly revised 4.62 million rate in May, the National Association of Realtors announced Thursday.

The Virginia Small Business Financing Authority will price 262.3 million of bonds on behalf of 95 Express Lanes LLC next week, financing which is expected to pair with a $300 million federal loan for one of Virginia's biggest public-private partnerships.

Reports from most of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July, according to the Beige Book, released Wednesday.

Housing starts rose 6.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000 in June from a revised estimate of 711,000 in May, originally reported as 708,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.