Ohio

Cuyahoga County, Ohio-based MetroHealth System was placed on Credit Watch with negative implications by S&P Global Ratings.

Issuers in the Midwest sold $87.2 billion of municipal bonds in 2016, a 23.4% year-over-year increase that was the biggest of any region.

Canton, Ohio, was slapped with a two-notch downgrade over its ongoing budget struggles.

Ohio-based public utility, Dayton Power and Light, plans to shift its business away from coal-fired generation and modernize its grid under an electric security plan that may represent a credit positive.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is looking to reduce the state’s reliance on income tax revenue by raising the taxes on cigarettes, beer and wine, gas drilling and raising and expanding the sales tax.

A new tool to help Ohio cities and counties gauge their fiscal health found that 16 cities and one county meet the threshold for having high fiscal stress.

Ohio will take competitive bids on $350 million of general obligation bonds Thursday in a deal to benefit schools.

Healthcare and education finance will be key areas of growth as Huntington Capital Markets looks to expand its public finance footprint in Ohio, Chicago and Wisconsin.

The Quicken Loans Arena – home of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers – will receive a partially bond-financed $140 million makeover.

East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton Jr. and City Council President Thomas Wheeler have been recalled from their positions in a special election as the city plunges into insolvency.

Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health plans to price a $345 million deal this week that includes a refunding, conversion of variable rate debt to fixed rate, and new money to partially fund the health system’s expansion.

MetroHealth in Cuyahoga County, Ohio is eyeing more than $1 billion of borrowing to finance a plan to transform its current campus.

Ohio became the latest bond issuer to suspend doing business with Wells Fargo & Co. over its phony accounts scandal.

Cincinnati Earns Upgrade Ahead of Sale

A Michigan-based senior housing developer and operator is borrowing $69.3 million of unrated tax exempt and taxable bonds to finance projects in Waterville, Ohio, and Chesterton, Ind.

Ohio-based American Municipal Power Inc. received a one-notch upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service as it prepares to come to market with a $206 million issue that includes designated “green” bonds.

Southwest Ohio’s largest healthcare provider capitalized on the low interest rate environment last week to save on the debt of four hospitals it now operates as one obligated group.

East Cleveland’s plan to avert bankruptcy by merging with neighbor Cleveland is back to the drawing board after terms were rejected by the Cleveland City Council.

The issuers of the Midwest sold $41 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2016, spurred by increased new money issuance, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Fitch Ratings lowered the issuer default ratings on four Ohio school districts after a review under new criteria.