Michigan

Fitch Ratings last week affirmed the CCC rating but revised the outlook to positive from stable on Pontiac, a Detroit suburb that is under emergency financial management.

CHICAGO — Less than a year after opening, Michigan's largest film studio reportedly is in danger of missing its Feb. 1 debt service payment.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Wednesday night defended the state's expansion of its emergency management law for troubled local governments and urged legislators to address a steep road-funding shortfall and support a newly created educational authority that will take over the state's worst schools.

Michigan has $632 million more in its coffers than expected as it heads into fiscal 2013, fiscal officials said Friday at the state’s biannual revenue estimating conference.

The Brighton Area School District has asked the state for permission to put an $88 million bond issue on the May referendum.

A group of governments near Flint, Mich., hopes to solidify a plan over the next month to break away from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and begin construction of their own bond-financed water pipeline to Lake Huron.

A recently abandoned plan to build a light-rail line in Detroit won new life last week when the federal government agreed to give local officials 90 days to refine a less costly plan.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing told the City Council last week that contrary to earlier projections, the city would not run out of cash by April.

A week ahead of Michigan's formal revenue forecasting conference, an independent fiscal agency has released a report suggesting the state could end its current fiscal year with a $736 million surplus.

The 10-member state-appointed financial review team that will begin digging into Detroit's finances next week is a diverse mix of high-profile state officials and local community leaders and businessmen.

Michigan scored an interest rate of 0.24% on $3.32 billion of short-term, variable-rate bonds it priced Monday to pay off a mounting federal unemployment liability.

Detroit's stressed fiscal situation warrants a full-blown state review, Michigan's treasurer said in a preliminary analysis of city finances ordered by Gov. Rick Snyder.

Detroit's $500 million senior-lien water bond sale last week saw spreads as high as 178 basis points over the triple-A benchmark scale on the longer maturity serial bonds.

Days before the end of their 2011 session, Michigan lawmakers sent Gov. Rick Snyder legislation that would allow the state to issue up to $3.2 billion of bonds to cover its federal unemployment debt.

Detroit comes to market with nearly $500 million of senior-lien water revenue bonds in a deal that could face headwinds from the city's well-known fiscal woes along with the uncertainties being raised over the treatment of water and sewer debt in Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy.

Michigan lawmakers are considering a move to reform a controversial law for fiscally stressed municipalities that was recently enacted, in order to head off an effort to repeal it.

Moody's Investors Service put Detroit's already junk-rated unlimited tax general obligation bonds and $4.6 billion of A1-rated water and sewer debt on review for possible downgrade.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Michigan's largest county to BBB-plus from A-minus, warning that it will take years for it to overcome deficits amid a weak economy.

Moody’s Investors Service last week dropped Taylor’s general obligation limited-tax rating three notches to Baa3 from A3.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last week appointed a seven-member review team to examine Inkster’s finances after a preliminary review found evidence of fiscal stress.