Missouri

CHICAGO — The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission will take competitive bids Wednesday on a $140 million refunding of top-rated senior-lien state road bonds in hopes of achieving about 6% to 7% in present-value savings.

CHICAGO — The St. Louis Metro will complete a ­refunding Wednesday of its $150 million floating-rate revenue bond issue from 2005, using a ­structure that provides a short-term salve for its fiscal challenges while the transit agency awaits a bump in sales tax dollars from a voter-approved increase.

CHICAGO — Branson Airport LLC in Missouri has proposed borrowing up to $17 million of unrated tax-exempt revenue bonds to cover final construction costs and bolster reserve funds tapped to help cover interest payments on $113 million of debt issued in 2007 to finance the privately built and operated airport.

CHICAGO — Midwestern bond issuance leaped by 32.5% to $39.8 billion for the first six months of the year, due primarily to Illinois’ borrowing spree to finance its $31 billion capital program and its use of debt for budgetary relief.

CHICAGO — Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded more than $220 million of general airport revenue bonds issued for Kansas City International Airport by one notch due to a decline in debt-service coverage ratios and increased exposure to non-airline related revenues.

CHICAGO — Branson Airport LLC dipped into reserves to cover its July 1 debt-service payment on $113 million of unrated tax-exempt bonds as it struggles to meet traffic projections for the privately built and operated Missouri facility.

CHICAGO — St. Louis voters will cast ballots Tuesday on a $155 million bond referendum to finance improvements at the city’s public schools.

CHICAGO — The managers of the bondholder-owned St. Louis convention center hotel complex presented a more upbeat revenue forecast for the facilities in a financial update last week, according to a new investor notice.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday signed reform legislation that will require new state employees to contribute to their retirement fund and to work longer before collecting their pensions.

CHICAGO — Missouri, a triple-A rated and rare borrower, will competitively sell $125 million of refunding and restructuring general obligation bonds today in a deal crafted to achieve near-term budget relief and long-term debt-service savings.

CHICAGO — The potential sale of the smaller of two facilities that make up the bondholder-owned St. Louis convention center hotel complex is on hold following a review of pending bids and in light of the generally improving economic conditions, according to a bondholder notice published last week.

CHICAGO — St. Louis County will competitively sell $20 million of tax-exempt special obligation bonds and taxable recovery zone economic development bonds to finance construction of a new health care campus in Berkeley.

CHICAGO — Missouri Gov. Jay ­Nixon late last week praised the Legislature for sending him a “fiscally responsible” $23.3 billion budget for fiscal 2011 that eliminates red ink through cuts rather than tax hikes, but called on lawmakers to approve a proposed government restructuring and tax-credit reforms that could trim future costs.

CHICAGO — St. Louis-based SSM Health Care System took retail orders yesterday on $280 million of fixed-rate bonds that will be open to institutional investors today. The deal will be followed early next month with $300 million of floating-rate debt.

CHICAGO — The financial outlooks for the St. Louis Metro and Menasha, Wis., brightened this week after voters approved a sales tax increase for the struggling transit agency and a sale-leaseback transaction for the city that will help it settle $23 million of defaulted debt.

CHICAGO — St. Louis County will competitively sell $123 million of special obligation tax-exempt bonds and taxable Build America Bonds on Tuesday to fund a new county-wide emergency communications system.

CHICAGO — Missouri Gov. Jay ­Nixon last week announced $126 million of cuts to help fill a new hole in the state’s fiscal 2010 budget. He also proposed a partial government overhaul that would consolidate some departments, sell off state assets, and privatize services to save money in future years.

CHICAGO — Kansas City, Mo., will enter the market on Tuesday with a $43 million new-money and refunding general obligation deal that includes $10 million of recovery zone economic development bonds, and which will be the city’s first negotiated sale to use only certified minority, women, and disadvantaged underwriting firms.

Congressional foot-dragging on federal transportation policy reverberated again at the state level this week, as the Missouri Department of Transportation decided not to put projects out for bids, making March the second consecutive month the state canceled bids due to federal funding uncertainty.

CHICAGO — St. Louis-based Ascension Health on Wednesday launches the first piece of its $1.34 billion new-money and restructuring deal that will raise funds for projects across its network, while also allowing the system to further reduce risk exposure and lower its maximum annual debt service.