Massachusetts

Legislation enabling three Las Vegas-style casinos and one slot parlor in Massachusetts is credit negative for casinos throughout the Northeast, but particularly for those in neighboring Connecticut and Rhode Island, Moody’s Investors Service said.

With a bond offering pending in two weeks, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and other officials are making pitches to the three major credit agencies to improve the state's bond rating.

Treasurer Steven Grossman said Massachusetts' recent move to become the fourth state to have more than $1 billion in its rainy-day account sends an emphatic message.

The Salem City Council will reconvene Sept. 8 to give second and final approval to two bond issues.

Berklee College of Music is planning a $90 million bond sale to help finance construction of a performance center, dormitory and dining hall at its main Boston campus.

Fitch Ratings upgraded Massachusetts’ special obligation highway revenue bonds to AA-plus from AA with a stable outlook. The agency said the move was part of its continuous surveillance effort.

Massachusetts’ $30.6 billion budget for fiscal 2012, which restored $65 million in local aid and improved the ability of governments to manage health-care costs, is a credit-positive for municipalities, Moody’s Investors Service said.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority has completed its $142 million sale of federally subsidized qualified school construction bonds.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Aug. 9 at Quincy High School on the proposed $38 million sale of Quincy Medical Center Inc. to Steward Health Care System LLC.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority on Wednesday will sell $142.4 million of qualified school construction bonds through negotiation.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has asked a bankruptcy judge to review the proposed $38 million sale of Quincy Medical Center Inc. to Steward Health Care System LLC.

Gov, Deval Patrick on Monday signed Massachusetts' $30.6 billion budget, 11 days into the new fiscal year.

Quincy Medical Center Inc. has sought bankruptcy protection as a part of a plan for Steward Health Care System LLC of Boston to take it over.

Linden Ponds Inc., operator of a retirement community in Hingham, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Northern Berkshire Healthcare Inc., unable to restructure $43 million in secured bond debt, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Quincy Medical Center missed a $380,000 bond payment due May 31, about a month after it said it would seek a buyer.

The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. took out $170 million of variable-rate debt last week, largely through a fixed-rate power supply revenue bond issue, to refinance costs related to its minority ownership of nuclear plants in Seabrook, N.H., and Waterford, Conn.

The Massachusetts Port Authority has named chief legal counsel David Mackey as interim chief executive officer and executive director while it conducts a national search to replace Thomas Kinton, who retired June 1.

The Massachusetts Port Authority on Wednesday will sell $215 million of special facilities revenue debt, including $156 million of taxable bonds, in a two-tranche offering to help finance the construction of a consolidated rental car facility at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Massachusetts’ largest public transportation agency Tuesday will leverage future parking revenues through a newly formed nonprofit entity to pay down outstanding debt and provide near-term budget relief.