Colorado

Moody’s Investors Service retained a negative outlook on Catholic Health Initiatives $5.7 billion of rated debt after lowering the healthcare giant to Baa1 from A3. The downgrade comes less than a month after a similar move by S&P Global Ratings.

Parker Schenken, a veteran public finance attorney from Nebraska, will join the public finance team at Sherman & Howard in Denver, the firm said.

Nonprofit health giant Catholic Health Initiatives fell one notch to BBB-plus on S&P Global Ratings' scale Thursday due to a weakened financial profile, analysts said.

With a strong, fourth-quarter kick, bond volume in the Southwest set a second consecutive record at $83.4 billion, surpassing the 2015 total by 7.2%, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

With $9 billion of transportation projects awaiting funding, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is joining legislative leaders in supporting a $3.5 billion bond program for shovel-ready projects.

As the 2017 Colorado General Assembly gets underway, one measure lawmakers are expected to consider is a sales tax increase for a $3.5 billion transportation and infrastructure bond program.

A new Colorado Municipal Bond Club for people working in the municipal bond industry will provide networking and an annual ski outing, founders said.

Federal civil rights investigation will delay Colorado’s proposed $1.7 billion P3 highway expansion project.

Energy-producing states affected by two years of deterioration in natural resource prices can expect continued global headwinds to pressure revenues, according to Fitch Ratings.

Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health care providers, is in danger of a downgrade from S&P Global Ratings after analysts placed its A-minus rating on its negative watch list.

The Colorado Department of Transportation will study a method of charging motorists by the mile to replace the state’s fuel tax. The four-month study begins in December.

Denver International Airport officials hope to land about $44 million of savings on a $250 million refunding issue this week. In its 21st year, DIA is rapidly paying down the debt used to build the nation's sixth busiest airport.

A $500 million bond issue for a new Major League Baseball stadium in Arlington, Texas, a $720 million transportation issue in Austin and a record amount of school bonds in Colorado were among the winners in Tuesday’s elections in the Southwest.

Colorado voters Tuesday will consider a measure to create the nation's first universal health care system.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper wants to cut $191 million from state highway budget.

An alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives with Dignity Health to create one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health-care providers would be a positive credit factor for the two organizations, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The Regional Transportation District that serves metro Denver will continue to grow its rail and bus system with $197 million of revenue bonds.

Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health are in negotiations that could result in creation of the nation’s largest nonprofit hospital chain or another form of “alignment.”

Boosted by a rating upgrade, the Denver Convention Center Hotel Authority is refunding its outstanding debt as the Mile High City launches a $778 million program to attract more visitors.

State and local governments and showing a wide variety of impacts from the collapse of the oil market that began two years ago, ratings analysts say.