Michigan

Attorneys for bankrupt Detroit and bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. said in court that they plan to finalize an agreement by Thursday, a move that would mean the city would have support from all major creditors for its bankruptcy exit plan.

Though Michigan's largest city remains mired in a historic bankruptcy, fiscal conditions appear to be improving for many of the state's other local governments, according to a new report from the University of Michigan.

The new regional authority taking over Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department should be a positive for holders of existing DWSD debt, Moody's Investors Service said Friday.

A deal to create a new bond-issuing authority to take over the troubled Detroit Water and Sewerage Department advanced this week with the remaining counties approving the plan.

At The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference, Schiff Hardin's Rick Frimmer discussed the implications of recent developments in municipal bankruptcy.

Moody's Investors Service warned Wednesday it may downgrade Detroit's Ca-rated certificates of participation, saying it expects to resolve the outlook when and if the bankrupt city settles with the bond insurer that wraps the bulk of the certificates.

The city of Detroit rested its case in the trial to decide if its bankruptcy confirmation plan will be confirmed after Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and City Council President Brenda Jones testified that they would work to support and implement its plan of confirmation.

Bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc.'s settlement with Detroit was the focus of much of the testimony Friday during the federal trial on the city's bankruptcy exit plan.

The transfer of the Detroit Water and Sewer Department into a new regional authority advanced last week when the Wayne County board of commissioners approved the deal.

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr on Wednesday offered a glimpse into the city's high-stakes negotiations — and subsequent settlements — with bondholders during the course of its historic bankruptcy.

Detroit's attorneys called a $1.5 billion 2005 certificates of participation financing an "insider deal" that benefited banks and helped doom the struggling city during a federal hearing on the disputed debt issuance.

A post-bankrupt Detroit will not only be a "normal borrower" within a year, but will be stronger than many credits in the muni market, the city's investment banker testified in federal court Tuesday.

Bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., the last major holdout creditor in Detroit's bankruptcy, is reportedly nearing a settlement with the city that includes a mix of cash and city assets.

The judge overseeing a retiree lawsuit challenging the city of Pontiac's effort to cut retiree health care benefits has ordered the parties into in mediation with one of the mediators of the Detroit bankruptcy case, while the city has hired Detroit's top restructuring firm to analyze its options for paying off the debt.

US Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy, ruled in favor of the city Monday when he dismissed a restraining order blocking the city's ability to shut off water to nonpaying customers.

Detroit Friday gained Michigan's final approval for a plan to issue $1.1 billion of bonds for a bankruptcy exit financing and to raise money to pay off several creditors.

Detroit officials regained control of most government functions, while remaining under state-controlled emergency management, after the city council late Thursday adopted a resolution that keeps Kevyn Orr on as manager with reduced powers until the bankruptcy is over.

A day after Michigan gave a $2.6 million loan to the city of Allen Park, Gov. Rick Snyder declared that the Detroit suburb's financial emergency is resolved, allowing the city's emergency manager, Joyce Parker, to formally step aside.

A Michigan board Wednesday voted to approve two emergency loans to cash-strapped Detroit suburbs, which are under state control, that will be used for pension payments.

Detroit officials could announce the future of emergency manager Kevyn Orr's role in the bankrupt city after his term ends Sept. 27. Some city council members reportedly favor a limited role to oversee the final weeks of the bankruptcy.