Michigan

The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy ordered the city back into mediation with limited-tax GO bondholders and water and sewer holders in a renewed effort to reach settlements.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes was expected to make a quick announcement of his choice for a municipal finance expert to help him analyze the feasibility of Detroit's bankruptcy plan.

Research firm Municipal Market Advisors questioned the feasibility of Detroit's recent pension settlements, warning that the proposed cuts are so minimal the city could end up back in Chapter 9.

Detroit's Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes Thursday ordered Detroit and three counties into mediation to try to hammer out a stalled deal to create a new regional authority to run the city's massive water and sewer system.

Detroit's two pension funds have reached a settlement with the bankrupt city that features dramatically lower cuts than originally proposed.

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr defended the city's bankruptcy and talked about the deal with unlimited-tax general obligation bondholders and the importance of future capital markets access in a wide-ranging exclusive interview with The Bond Buyer.

With the help of mediators, Detroit reached a settlement with its police and fire retirees, one of the thorniest parts of the city's historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

Detroit bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes' decision to hire a municipal finance expert to review the city's bankruptcy plan attracted responses from five professionals, including a few well-known public finance figures.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder agreed with a state review team's recent assessment that the Detroit suburb of Lincoln Park is in a state of fiscal emergency.

Detroit's proposed settlement with its unlimited-tax general obligation bondholders is a positive development for the bondholders and insurers that wrap the debt, Moody's Investors Service said in a comment released Monday.

Detroit's historic bankruptcy case gained momentum with court approval of a controversial interest-rate swaps settlement and a deal on its unlimited-tax general obligation bonds, but challenges still lay ahead, legal experts said.

KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. has hired Mark Fisher to serve as a managing director in its public finance group, overseeing business in Ohio and Michigan.

Market participants believe Detroit's settlement with three bond insurers Wednesday is a breakthrough in the city's bankruptcy proceedings, even though it is not final and leaves many questions unanswered.

A bond insurer Wednesday asked the bankruptcy judge overseeing Detroit's case to force the city to consider four new bids for the city's art collection that could bring in as much as $2 billion.

Detroit announced its first significant bankruptcy settlement, agreeing to pay insurers of its unlimited-tax general obligation bonds 74 cents on the dollar and to treat the debt as secured in the future.

The state of Michigan last week sold $83 million of bonds last week in a deal that state officials said was four times oversubscribed and proved that the state's credit remains appealing to investors.

Detroit's creditors filed a flood of objections to the city's bankruptcy plan Monday, arguing it lacked critical information needed to answer even basic questions such as recovery rates.

Another Detroit suburb faces state takeover after a review team declared it to be in a state of financial emergency.

Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy, will rule next week on a critical interest-rate swaps settlement after an all-day hearing Thursday that centered on the legality of the lien backing the derivatives.

Detroit's revised debt plan, which proposes even lower recoveries for bondholders, is a harsh reminder that even bonds with strong security pledges will suffer when economic conditions are too bad, Moody's Investors Service said in a comment titled "Detroit Turns the Screw."