Far West

Alaska Railroad Corp.'s $135 million of bonds backed by federal transportation funds have been endangered by recent legislation. That risk prompted Moody's Investors Service to downgrade the debt on Thursday to A2 from A1.

CHICAGO — The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday granted Chicago's request to preserve its ability to pursue a privatization of Midway Airport under a federal pilot program until the end of the year.

Anschutz Entertainment Group, the developer behind the proposed $1.5 billion Farmers Field project to build a National Football League stadium in downtown Los Angeles and modernize the city' convention center, released a 10,000-page draft environmental impact report Thursday.

Bond attorneys are studying a recent IRS ruling that allowed Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to issue $1 million of bonds that were not subject to the alternative minimum tax.

The Department of Transportation has received $10.2 billion in applications for the $500 million available through its latest round of TIGER funding, highlighting the pressing need for infrastructure investment, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday.

Larry Bowden, an executive at Little Rock-based Stephens Inc., has taken over as chairman of Bond Dealers of America.

A FINRA hearing panel has fined David Lerner Associates $2.3 million and suspended head trader William Mason for six months with a $200,000 fine for charging excessive markups on muni bond and collateralized mortgage obligation transactions.

LOS ANGELES — Fitch Ratings analysts said Tuesday that while a decision by the California Public Employees' Retirement System to lower its earnings forecast to 7.5% from 7.75% is positive for local government credit quality in the long term, it means added near-term budgetary pressure for struggling municipalities.

SAN FRANCISCO — Two conduit bond issuers run by private firms appear to be the only entities out of thousands of government agencies in California that do not have to disclose any employee salaries.

The IRS has launched a compliance practice research team that will seek to identify red-flags indicating questionable muni bond transactions.