Infrastructure

Any economic stimulus plan considered by Congress should include proposals for infrastructure spending and state aid, economists told members of the Senate Budget Committee at a hearing yesterday.

BRADENTON, Fla. - In a difficult market for issuers with top ratings, let alone a new credit with a large amount of debt to sell, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority hopes to get into the bond market early in December for its first-ever issuance - a $650 million deal to finance its first project.

CHICAGO - Michigan lawmakers are expected to tackle the issue of transportation funding in their upcoming lame-duck session, mulling a slew of new revenue options ranging from reconfiguring the state's gas tax and implementing tolls on major highways to hiking the sales tax.

CHICAGO - Fresh from approving fare increases to shore up its operating budget, the Chicago Transit Authority is expected to enter the market today with $175 million of grant-backed revenue bonds to speed up spending on capital projects.

As DHL Express prepares to cut up to 9,500 jobs nationally, most of which would come from its hub in Wilmington, the company last week said it would be willing to donate its airport there to a public entity for redevelopment. The 2,200-acre DHL Air Park is currently the largest privately run airport in the county.

WASHINGTON - Almost a dozen transit agencies are pressing Senate Finance Committee leaders to severely limit what banks and other investors in leaseback deals can obtain from them as the transactions unwind because of insurer rating downgrades.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. - Budget shortfalls and lack of access to capital markets for infrastructure projects may be sparking a transition period for financing that could ultimately prove beneficial for issuers over the long term, transportation experts said yesterday.

DALLAS - When the Texas Legislature opens in January, North Texas transportation planners will seek authority to create a tax base that could extend the region's growing network of passenger rail lines beyond existing transit districts and allow for the issuance of debt.

All of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's swaps are underwater, the authority said yesterday.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. - Transportation projects may become increasingly funded by federal loans, a new crop of fees, and taxes, while private-sector financing may also need to become more inventive, analysts and officials said at a conference here yesterday.