Michigan

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr will hold his first formal meeting with the city's creditors, including bondholders, June 14 at Detroit Metro Airport.

Moody's Investors Service late Wednesday downgraded Detroit Public Schools, now in its fifth year of state oversight, and the Pontiac City School District, located outside Detroit, which defaulted on a May debt-service payment.

The Michigan Senate Majority Leader delayed until Tuesday a vote on a measure that would protect the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection from the city's financial problems amid questions from his Republican colleagues.

Moody's Investors Service Monday affirmed its A2 rating on Bronson Healthcare Group and revised the outlook to stable from positive, saying the system has had softer operating margins following a 2011 merger and faces higher capital demands in 2013.

Standard & Poor's last week boosted its rating on Farmington Hills to AAA, making it one of only a handful of Michigan municipalities that carry the coveted top marks.

Three years after asking the state for permission to file bankruptcy, the troubled Detroit suburb of Hamtramck stepped closer to state takeover Monday when Gov. Rick Snyder declared it to be in a state of fiscal emergency.

Bloomfield, a town of 41,000 about 10 miles outside of Detroit, is set to become one of the state's first local governments to take advantage of a new law allowing municipalities to issue bonds to pay off their pension liabilities.

It would be difficult but not impossible for Detroit or its creditors to lay claim to the Detroit Institute of Arts' prized collection, bankruptcy attorneys say.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville Wednesday introduced a measure to protect the Detroit Institute of Art's prized art collection, days after the city's emergency manager warned the art is vulnerable to creditors.

Moody's Friday placed the B1 issuer rating and B2 general obligation limited tax debt rating of Pontiac School District on review for possible downgrade after saying the district missed a debt payment scheduled for May 1.

The Detroit City Council approved Mayor Dave Bing's $1.1 billion general fund 2014 budget for the city, which is under emergency management.

Holders of Detroit's general obligation bonds are taking note of the specific pledges securing their paper and how the debt might be treated differently in bankruptcy.

A five-member Michigan review team Thursday said it found a fiscal emergency in the long-troubled Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, which could lead to an emergency manager.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and GOP leaders have reached an agreement on spending targets for 2014, but Snyder said the $50 billion plan fails to address some long-term issues, including Medicaid and road funding.

A proposed merger between Beaumont Health System and Henry Ford Health System was cancelled Tuesday.

Just weeks after announcing he would step down as emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools, Roy Roberts said last week he would stay for six more months.

Detroit's plan to restructure its debt "puts default squarely on the table" and signals bankruptcy is a real option, Moody's Investors Service says in a comment.

Michigan's recovery from its "lost decade" is expected to continue through 2017, economists and fiscal officials said, projecting nearly $700 million in largely one-time new revenues for the 2014 budget.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, who ran the city amidst its most tumultuous period, said Tuesday he won't run for re-election – but said he is eying a bid for Wayne County Executive's office.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded Kalamazoo, Mich. to AA from AA-plus, saying the city faces a myriad of challenges.