Louisiana

State budget conditions vary widely as of late fiscal 2016, with the overall picture getting better while states with less diversified economies face significant stress, Standard & Poor's said Wednesday.

It will take time to repair Louisiana’s structural budget imbalance but the state is committed to resolving its challenges, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at the National Municipal Bond Summit.

Louisiana’s fiscal problems require that the state alter how it prioritizes capital outlay projects, particularly those financed with state bonds, said Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne.

As Louisiana prepares to price $359.3 million of general obligation bonds next week for budget relief, headline risk associated with Illinois and Puerto Rico may factor into borrowing costs.

UMB Bank N.A., the bond trustee for Texas Pellets, accelerated the outstanding debt on $186.5 million of bonds due to a default at the company owned by German Pellets, which filed for insolvency in February.

A federal judge approved a $20 billion settlement with BP to resolve litigation brought by five Gulf coast states over the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Louisiana’s general obligation bonds by one notch to AA-minus on Tuesday as the troubled state prepares to refund debt as part of a deficit-reduction plan.

The Louisiana State Bond Commission approved a $600 million general obligation refunding Thursday that will delay $81.6 million in bond payments this fiscal year and $30 million in fiscal 2017.

In a financial mess that spans the Atlantic, Louisiana affiliates of a German wood pellet processing firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, potentially leaving bond investors on the hook for a project poised to receive millions in state incentives.

Louisiana selected underwriters Tuesday for a general obligation refunding of up to $600 million to patch a portion of the state’s massive deficit.

Louisiana-based Adam and Reese LLP has promoted partner Tracy Averett Morganti to head the firm's public finance team.

After a special three-week session ended, Louisiana legislators remained $30 million shy of closing the current-year deficit and $800 million short for fiscal 2017.

Local and state government leaders are tapping sales taxes for new revenue to help close budget gaps, pay for infrastructure, fund pension liabilities, and finance basics such as teachers’ raises.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday that lawmakers had failed to make the budget cuts to close this year’s deficit.

A divided Louisiana Legislature has balked at some measures aimed at pulling the state out of a $940 million current-year deficit.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Louisiana’s credit ratings by one notch, impacting $7.3 billion of debt; the state’s general obligation bonds were dropped to Aa3 from Aa2 amid the state’s fiscal crisis.

In the Southeast, pent-up need for capital and low interest rates translated into a five-year high for bond issuance in 2015.

Eight Louisiana universities face budget cuts amid the state's fiscal crisis, prompting Moody's Investors Service to place the institutions on review for possible downgrade.

Louisiana's estimated deficit deepened as state lawmakers began meeting for a special three-week legislative session to deal with the historic budget gap.

In a newspaper column Tuesday, the governor said he would not support budget cuts that could throw universities into financial exigency and close hospitals in order to deal with Louisiana's budget crisis.