Tonya Chin

After the application of new ratings criteria, Fitch Ratings has downgraded 23 out of 28 charter school ratings, with 20 now below speculative grade.

The decline in college savings among Americans is a credit negative for the higher education sector, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Despite improvements in the housing market, housing finance agencies still face credit risks from high unemployment rates, low interest rates, and low home prices, Moody's Investors Service said Thursday.

The municipal variable rate demand bond market's four-year decline is expected to continue this year, but at a slower pace, Moody's said.

Ambac Assurance Corp. has agreed to discontinue its lawsuit brought against Credit Suisse in 2010 over misrepresentations on mortgage-backed securities insured in 2007.

The New York Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit brought by various financial institutions against MBIA Inc. over its 2009 split into two companies.

Although negative, the effects of sequestration on state and local governments will be gradual and issuers are mostly prepared, according to Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's.

RBC Capital Markets has expanded its municipal markets group with the addition of Keith Shultis, formerly of Goldman Sachs.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. reported quarterly profits and announced that it plans to begin writing policies with its new municipal-only insurer, Municipal Assurance Corp., later this year.

Driven primarily by lower net losses on insured exposures during the end of 2012, MBIA Inc. posted a profit for the fourth quarter.

With low interest rates, stagnant supply, and anticipated regulations, the market for variable rate demand obligations is in decline.

Moody's Investors Service has placed $354 million of outstanding debt from 40 issuers on review, direction uncertain, due to lack of information.

The range of risks facing the higher education sector could lead to uneven credit performance in 2013, according to Standard & Poor's.

Lori Smith-Lalla has joined Greenberg Traurig’s public finance practice in Fort Lauderdale and will focus on city, county and local government finance.

Moody's Investors Service has a negative outlook on local governments, which continue to be pressured in the slow and uneven economic recovery.

In the State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a plan for stronger regulation of colleges and universities, which Moody's Investors Service calls a credit negative in the near term.

Suzanne Shank of Siebert Brandford Shank & Company has been named to the Grio's Top 100 List of African-American leaders.

Amidst concerns among market participants of a 'great rotation' out of fixed income into equities, Barclays strategists released a report Thursday assessing whether this might happen in the muni market.

Moody's Investors Service gave the states a negative outlook for the sixth consecutive year, noting employment and tax revenue growth are still uneven.

In a report, Moody's Investors Service outlined the risks associated with bank support agreements to which some municipal issuers are exposed.