Ohio

The privatization of the Ohio Turnpike would likely be a positive for debt holders, Moody’s Investors Service said in a market comment this week.

CHICAGO — Blaming a bad housing market and the failure to reach an agreement with bondholders, an Ohio senior-living facility that missed its most recent debt-service payments filed for Chapter 11 protection last week.

Moody's Investors Service last week affirmed its Baa1 rating on Summa Health System in Ohio.

CHICAGO - Ohio has picked KPMG LLP as lead advisor for a proposal to privatize the Ohio Turnpike.

Moody’s Investors Service placed Cleveland-based MetroHealth System on watch list for potential downgrade due to a decline in financial performance through the first nine months of fiscal 2011. The credit is rated A2.

Athens-based Ohio University will spend $1 billion over the next six years for capital improvements, most of it financed with bonds.

CHICAGO - Ohio hopes to issue a request for proposals by the end of the year to privatize its highway rest areas, one of several public-private partnerships being eyed by Gov. John Kasich's administration.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said the "people had spoken" last Tuesday when voters defeated by 63% a new law that would have curtailed collective bargaining for public employees.

Ohio State University announced last week that it has selected seven possible partners for the school's plan to become the first public university to privatize its parking system.

CHICAGO - Promedica Health System will hold a retail order period Wednesday followed by institutional pricing Thursday for $145 million of refunding bonds.

CHICAGO - The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority plans to issue $14.4 million of bonds to finance a takeover of Toledo's parking system in a deal that gained final City Council approval last week.

CHICAGO - Cleveland Hopkins International Airport plans to price $75 million of passenger fee-backed revenue bonds Wednesday, its first new-money borrowing in 10 years.

CHICAGO - The Cuyahoga County Council this week approved a measure that will allow Ohio's most populous county to launch a bond-financed program to finance economic development projects.

CHICAGO - Reversing a recent decision, the Obama administration Monday said Ohio could use a small federal grant to finance Republican Gov. John Kasich's effort to privatize the Ohio Turnpike.

Fitch Ratings last week affirmed its AA rating on $590 million of revenue bonds issued by the Ohio Turnpike Commission and revised its outlook to stable from negative.

CHICAGO - Ohio State University is coming to market this week with at least $300 million of taxable general receipts bonds that feature 100-year maturities, marking the first time a public university has floated century bonds.

CHICAGO - The U.S. Department of Transportation revoked a $1.5 million grant to Ohio after a group of Democratic congressmen from the state said Gov. John Kasich was wrongly using the money to hire a firm to advise the state on privatizing the Ohio Turnpike.

Ohio auditor Dave Yost last week put Akron on a fiscal caution status, marking the first time the state has used the new criteria.

CHICAGO - Firms interested in acting as underwriter for the Ohio Housing Finance Authority have until Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. to submit proposals.

CHICAGO - Ohio State University's plan to privatize its parking system advanced this week when the school posted a request for qualifications for firms interested in the asset.