Kyle Glazier

Several municipal bond provisions that have gotten strong support from muni lobbyists, market participants, and state governments and which were included in the Senate-passed highway bill may not survive eleventh-hour House-Senate committee negotiations, stakeholders say.

Sales of new single-family houses rose 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 in May, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the sale of $790.3 million of general obligation bonds. The bonds will be sold in five series and finance a variety of capital projects, such as schools and hospitals.

The latest round of TIGER grant funding will disburse nearly $500 million to 47 projects in 34 states and the District of Columbia, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Friday. The Department of Transportation received 703 applications from all 50 states, U.S. territories, and D.C. The awards ranged from $1 million to $21.6 million.

Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell announced this week that the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank will provide $160 million in loans to help finance two major transportation projects in the commonwealth.

Existing home sales fell 1.5% in May to a seasonally adjusted 4.55 million-unit rate, after an unrevised 4.62 million rate in April, the National Association of Realtors announced Thursday.

Most members of the Federal Reserve Bank continue to view 2014 as the most appropriate time for tightening, with seven of 19 participants choosing that year as the right time for policy firming in the Fed’s latest summary of economic projections released Wednesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee announced Wednesday that it kept the federal funds rate target at zero to 0.25%, and extended its program to sell short-term securities and purchase long-term securities.

The popular federal TIGER grant program for major transportation projects would be axed if Republicans get their way.

Housing starts fell 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 708,000 in May from a revised level of 744,000 in April, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The gap between many states' pension and health care benefit commitments and the money set aside to meet them is growing wider, representing a continuing and growing threat to their financial stability and creditworthiness, according to a new report from the Pew Center on the States.

Industrial production fell 0.1% in May, while capacity use decreased slightly to 79.0%, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. current account deficit increased to $137.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The U.S. current account deficit increased to $137.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — The push for Congress to pass long-term highway funding legislation is reaching a fever pitch two weeks before the current law expires, as Sen. Barbara Boxer led a rally Wednesday urging approval of her two-year transportation bill in time to avoid another extension.

WASHINGTON — Business inventories were up 0.4% to $ 1,575.1 billion in April, while sales rose 0.2% to $1,249.6 billion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Retail sales dropped 0.2% to $404.6 billion in May after declining a revised 0.2% in April, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Business inventories were up 0.4% to $ 1,575.1 billion in April, while sales rose 0.2% to $1,249.6 billion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Retail sales dropped 0.2% to $404.6 billion in May after declining a revised 0.2% in April, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The Virginia Resources Authority withdrew a $46 million chunk of its nearly $400 million pool bond issue last month and is reissuing it in a stand-alone deal scheduled to close next week, after a group of citizens questioned the legality of the transaction.