Michigan

Fitch Ratings stripped Wayne County, Michigan's general obligation ratings of their investment grade over the county's rapidly deteriorating fiscal condition, in a five-notch superdowngrade.

The Michigan Finance Authority will sell $92 million of state aid revenue notes for the Detroit Public School District next week in the first market offering to carry the Detroit name since the city's bankruptcy filing.

Over the years, Detroit's financial deterioration and the city's downturn have been well documented, so its bankruptcy filing came as little surprise to most market participants. This point can be reinforced by Interactive Data's analysis below of six different bonds issued by Detroit and related entities, which are representative of the types of debt and structures Detroit has issued.

Rising interest rates and lagging economic growth sidelined borrowers in the Midwest where issuance dipped by 12% to $34 billion during the first half of 2013 compared to the same time last year.

Moody's said Monday that "novel" refinancing plans proposed by bankrupt Jefferson County, Ala., and Detroit are being threatened by rising interest rates and raise risks for investors.

Moody's Investors Service Thursday downgraded the Pontiac City School District to Caa1 from B3 -- a junk rating that reflects expected bondholder loss -- two days after Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder determined the district was in a financial emergency.

New York City can learn valuable lessons from Detroit's bankruptcy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, despite the contrasts between the two cities.

After the third Michigan issuer pulled a bond deal from a market grappling with Detroit's bankruptcy, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Snyder said the governor is aware of investor concerns, but says the state remains filled with "smart, sound" bond investments.

The former chief of the Detroit Medical Center and the Wayne County sheriff will face off in November to be Detroit's mayor, a post that will hold little power until late 2014 at the earliest.

Oakland County, Mich., the triple-A rated county adjacent to Detroit, is plowing ahead with a $300 million taxable retiree health care bond issue set for September as other Michigan issuers shy away from a market still digesting Detroit's bankruptcy.

Cynthia Thomas is the executive director of the Retirement Systems of the City of Detroit. She is the latest participant in IMMP's "5 Questions."

A second Michigan government is delaying its bond sale amid concerns over fallout from Detroit's bankruptcy.

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has hired Christie's Appraisals to appraise the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The Pontiac City School District located outside Detroit stepped closer to a state takeover Friday when a state review team declared it to be in a state of financial emergency.

Detroit expects to file a final plan of adjustment by the end of the year, months ahead of a proposed March deadline, attorneys for the city told the federal judge overseeing the bankruptcy case.

The federal judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy case may weigh in this morning on the city's one and only creditor settlement, which terminates a series of interest-rate swaps hedging its pension certificates.

Moody's Investors Service Thursday downgraded Wayne County, Mich., which includes Detroit, to Baa3, the lowest investment-grade rating.

A new analysis from Morningstar weighs in on the debate over the size of Detroit's pension liability, suggesting that current pension fund assumptions fall mostly within accepted industry standards.

Genesee County, Mich. reportedly pulled a $54 million water and sewer bond deal Thursday due to lack of investor interest in the bonds.

Any credit with Detroit in its name can expect to take a hit in the market, but for the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the so-called Michigan penalty is nothing new, says CFO Terry Teifer.