Michigan

CHICAGO — A failed film studio project touted by a Hollywood producer has left a Detroit suburb struggling to cover payments on $31 million of bonds that have sparked an informal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CHICAGO — Michigan’s fiscal 2012 budget took a big step towards completion this week as Gov. Rick Snyder and his fellow Republican leaders announced a compromise plan to increase taxes.

CHICAGO — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing told the City Council Tuesday that failure to implement his budget proposals would lead to a state-mandated emergency financial takeover.

CHICAGO — Michigan Thursday will competitively sell $150 million of taxable general obligation bonds to finance loans to help local school districts cover their debt-service payments.

CHICAGO — The Detroit suburb of Hamtramck has pressed Michigan officials to allow it to become the state’s first city to file for bankruptcy. Now it has reached a financial agreement with Detroit that, together with a hoped-for $2.5 million state loan, could stabilize its finances for at least the next 10 months.

CHICAGO — Mayor Dave Bing Tuesday said he would challenge newly released U.S. Census results that show Detroit’s population dropped by a quarter in the last decade to 713,000, the lowest head count since 1910.

CHICAGO — Warning that municipalities across Michigan are facing serious fiscal challenges, freshman Gov. Rick Snyder Monday unveiled a package of bills that would overhaul local governance while slashing state aid by a third.

Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh and president pro tempore Gary Brown said they plan to meet with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder this week to dissuade him from enacting major cuts in local aid from the state.

Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb last week unveiled a plan to lease 41 failing public schools — about a quarter of its schools — to private charter school operators.

CHICAGO — Michigan is set to enact a controversial law that expands state power over fiscally stressed local governments and gives emergency managers broader authority, including the ability to terminate labor contracts.

Detroit Public Schools last week launched a series of public tours and community meetings to showcase how it’s spending proceeds of a $500 million bond-funded capital improvement plan.

CHICAGO — Trinity Health Credit Group’s plan to buy Loyola University Health System should bolster the latter’s fiscal standing, though analysts say it’s too early to tell what impact the acquisition will have on Trinity’s balance sheet.

CHICAGO — Faced with the headline risk associated with ongoing reports over its fiscal struggles, Detroit Public Schools was forced to pay a steep premium Thursday on its sale of $231 million of short-term notes.

CHICAGO — A survey that included more than half of Michigan’s counties show they are struggling with unfunded other post-employment benefit liabilities of $3 billion.

After winning long-awaited approval from a bond insurer, Detroit Public Schools plans to enter the market Thursday with $231 million of one-year notes urgently needed to make payroll through August.

Moody's Investors Service dropped its rating to Ba3 from Ba1 on Garden City Hospital's long-term debt and said it will maintain its negative outlook even at the lower rating level.

Fitch Ratings last week revised its outlook to negative on Kalamazoo while affirming its AA-plus rating on much of the city's outstanding bonds.

CHICAGO — New Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder presented a $45.9 billion all-funds fiscal 2012 budget that features $1.8 billion in cuts and what the governor dubbed a sweeping overhaul of the state’s tax structure.

CHICAGO — Michigan would give emergency financial managers who are appointed to take over local governments the authority to terminate labor contracts under a proposed overhaul of the state’s main law for dealing with fiscally stressed credits.

CHICAGO — Detroit Public Schools’ emergency financial manager Robert Bobb is pushing Michigan lawmakers to enact a bill that would insulate a chunk of the district’s debt from bankruptcy to address concerns by the debt’s bond insurer.