Michigan

A hearing on Detroit's interest-rate swaps and proposed borrowing was pushed back until Tuesday due to a massive winter storm in the Midwest.

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr said he asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the city's interest-rate swaps amid "serious questions" about the legality of the financings.

Bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp. urged the federal judge overseeing the Detroit bankruptcy to reject the city's latest swap-termination deal, saying the terms are too rich in light of legal questions tied to the original financings.

As Detroit gears up to file its plan of adjustment this month in its historic bankruptcy case, the chief mediator in the case ordered the city Tuesday to meet with bondholders in a series of mediation sessions next week.

The mediators overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy case recommended that the bankruptcy judge approve a settlement between the city and its interest-rate swap counterparties, calling it a significant step.

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr filed an order with the bankruptcy court outlining and defending the city's revised settlement with its interest-rate swap counterparties.

Detroit's pension funds Thursday asked a federal circuit court to allow an expedited appeal of the bankruptcy court's recent ruling that the city is eligible for Chapter 9 and that its pensions can be cut, saying the case has national implications that warrant a speedy review.

Attorneys for Detroit's pension funds said they will challenge a new settlement between the city and its interest-rate swap counterparties.

Bankrupt Detroit will shave about $65 million off its costs to terminate interest-rate swaps under a new settlement agreement reached with its bank counterparties the day of Christmas Eve.

A bond insurer and Detroit's two pension funds are among five appointees to the committee named to represent the interests of unsecured creditors as the city proceeds through Chapter 9.

Detroit's federal bankruptcy judge urged the appellate court to reject an appeal of his recent rulings on the city's eligibility for Chapter 9 and declined to recommend an expedited appeal process.

CHICAGO - Detroit told the bankruptcy court Friday it may sue its interest-rate swap counterparties without a revised settlement to terminate the swaps under more favorable terms. The warning raises the stakes on mediation.

Detroit's mayor-elect, Mike Duggan, will manage the bankrupt city's day-to-day operations under an agreement with the city's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, that was announced Thursday.

Auction house Christie's valued bankrupt Detroit's art collection at between $454 million and $867 million in a final assessment turned over to city emergency manager Kevyn Orr this week.

CHICAGO – A federal bankruptcy court judge abruptly suspended hearings on Detroit's proposed $350 million debtor-in-possession financing and settlement with its interest-rate swap counterparties Wednesday and urged the city to use the time to renegotiate the swaps termination deal.

The federal bankruptcy court judge overseeing Detroit's historic Chapter 9 filing pressed the city Wednesday for more information on its strategy behind the decision to negotiate a settlement with interest-rate swap counterparties.

Detroit had to pursue a settlement with the interest-rate swap counterparties on its pension certificates or risk the "cataclysmic" loss of access to casino revenues, the city's investment banker told the bankruptcy court Tuesday.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's push to create a new authority to take over troubled schools, a growing sore spot for the state, advanced last week when the Senate passed controversial legislation expanding the program.

CHICAGO - The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy ruled creditors can appeal directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rulings that the city is eligible for Chapter 9 and pensions are not protected in bankruptcy.

A $650 million project featuring a new hockey arena and entertainment district in downtown Detroit stepped closer to reality Friday, and officials announced that it includes the demolition of the storied Joe Louis Arena.