Louisiana

A settlement between New Orleans and its firefighters’ union resolving pension and wage disputes is credit positive for the city, though it will stress city finances, Moody’s said.

Voters in Louisiana Saturday select a new governor and decide on a constitutional amendment to fund new transportation projects that opponents say could hurt the state’s credit ratings.

Shreveport, La.’s general obligation bond rating was dropped to A2 from A1 by Moody's Investors Service due to weak liquidity and the use of reserves.

West Jefferson Medical Center, La.'s bond ratings were cut three notches to Ba2 due to a "precipitous" downturn in operating performance, Moody's Investors Service said.

The oil and gas industry is pressing Congress to permit exports of crude as prices remain at the lowest since the 2008 global financial crisis. The campaign comes as Houston and other energy dependent credits face growing pain from the falling prices, according to Fitch Ratings.

As the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina nears, New Orleans has seen many improvements although the city still faces credit challenges, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Issuers in the Southeast sold $41.56 billion of bonds in the first half of 2015, an 85% increase in year-over-year volume fueled by refundings and a slight uptick in new-money sales.

Louisiana dodged a rating downgrade ahead of an upcoming bond sale amid ongoing concern over the state budget's structural imbalance.

Five Louisiana universities avoided rating downgrades by Standard & Poor's because the state bolstered their 2016 budgets instead of enacting new cuts.

Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., have introduced bipartisan disaster tax relief bills that include several bond provisions.