Missouri

Ascension Health Alliance will make its first foray into the long-term taxable market this week when it sells $1 billion of refunding bonds in a mix of tax-exempt and taxable paper.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed a gradual $700 million to $800 million tax cut approved by the Legislature, calling the plan irresponsible and harmful to the state's budget and economy.

A majority of investors holding $113 million of bonds issued for the privately owned and operated Branson Airport in Missouri have agreed to give the struggling Ozarks air field more breathing room to bolster operations.

An investor with a stake in $39 million of defaulted bonds issued for a failed artificial sweetener plant in Missouri dropped the underwriter's counsel from litigation and may be zeroing in on underwriter Morgan Keegan & Co.

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport received a triple dose of good credit news last week when Moody's Investors Service followed Fitch Ratings in upgrading the airport's credit and Standard & Poor's revised its outlook.

Missouri lawmakers adjourned after passing of a $25 billion fiscal 2014 operating budget and a $700 million to $800 million income tax cut package but taking no action on two major bond packages.

Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. denies any wrongdoing and attacks as overtly biased Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander's petition alleging securities fraud in its role as underwriter of Moberly, Missouri's $39 million of defaulted bonds.

A judge ruled last week that several Kansas City, Mo. business owners behind a lawsuit challenging the legality of the funding mechanism for the city's proposed $102 million, two-mile downtown streetcar line don’t have to file a bond to proceed with their appeal.

Monsanto Co., the agricultural biotechnology corporation, last week announced plans for a $400 million expansion of its research facility in Chesterfield just outside St. Louis.

Several Kansas City Missouri business owners behind a lawsuit challenging the legality of the funding mechanism for the city's proposed $102 million downtown streetcar filed an appeal of the district court's dismissal.

The trustee for $113 million of bonds issued for a privately owned and operated airport at Branson, Mo. are negotiating possible modifications to a forbearance agreement for the struggling airport.

Gov. Jay Nixon last week signed a $219 million supplement to the fiscal 2013 budget that provides funding for education and other services.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has named its chief engineer Dave Nichols to serve as director of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Voters in St. Louis and St. Louis County last week passed Proposition P, a sales tax increase to help fund trail and park improvements and renovations to the Gateway Arch.

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander issued a cease-and-desist order against the former Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. for alleged fraud in its role as underwriter on $39 million of defaulted revenue bonds issued by a Missouri city for a now abandoned artificial sweetener plant.

With its ratings intact, CoxHealth in Missouri next week enters the market with a mostly new-money sale for about $200 million to help finance a major expansion at its main healthcare campus.

Missouri Department of Transportation chief engineer Dave Nichols will take the reins of director on an interim basis replacing Kevin Keith who is taking a medical leave of absence.

Kansas City, Mo. officials hope to quickly resolve a lawsuit filed by several business owners challenging the legality of the funding mechanism for the city's proposed $102 million downtown streetcar project.

Peabody Energy Corp., which led efforts to develop the mostly bond-financed, joint power agency-owned Prairie State Energy Campus, has received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission on the coal-fired plant's development.

Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook to negative from stable on the A-minus rating held by Bethesda Health Group due to the balance sheet strains from low occupancy levels and flat revenue growth which heightens concerns over its aggressive debt profile.