Ohio

CHICAGO - Ohio will begin a retail order period Monday with institutional pricing scheduled for Tuesday for at least $416.7 million of general obligation refunding bonds.

CHICAGO - Fears expressed by some municipal market participants that cuts in state aid will spawn a wave of local government defaults are overblown, according to a new report by Nuveen Asset Management that examines 12 Cleveland-area issuers.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on Monday filed a motion in federal court to intervene in a lawsuit that the agency believes could delay the long-planned Ohio River Bridges Project.

Cincinnati residents may vote on a new ticket tax this fall to help cover operating costs at two of the city's stadiums.

The Ohio School Facilities Commission last week approved $543 million of capital spending by 13 school districts.

CHICAGO — For the first time since 2006, Ohio is enjoying an increase in revenue collections.

CHICAGO — Cleveland has sued the Cleveland Clinic over its decision to close a hospital on the city's east side, arguing in part that the prestigious clinic's acceptance of tax-exempt funding from the state requires it to provide equitable services to the city.

CHICAGO - Ohio Gov. John Kasich Thursday night is expected to sign into law a $112 billion, two-year all-funds budget that closes a shortfall in part by selling the state’s liquor distribution system and six prisons while paving the way for the lease of the Ohio Turnpike.

A well-known anti-gambling veteran said last week that he would "sue everybody" tied to a recent deal between Ohio Gov. John Kasich and the developers of two new casinos in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

CHICAGO - Cincinnati is expected to enter the market Tuesday with about $80 million of unlimited-tax general obligation debt that is part of the city’s regular annual borrowing to finance capital projects.

Cleveland legislators Monday introduced a bill to create a jobs program modeled after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s federal Works Progress Administration.

CHICAGO - Moody's Investors Service Thursday lowered its rating on Ohio-based Mercy Medical Center to its lowest investment-grade level — and revised its outlook to negative — warning that the facility is suffering from a sharp decline in its fiscal position.

The Columbus City Council Monday approved legislation that advances a plan for a $400 million casino based in the city.

CHICAGO — Ohio will enter the market four times over the next week with a spate of deals to finance economic development and job-creation projects.

The company building casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati halted construction last week amid an ongoing debate by Ohio Gov. John Kasich and lawmakers about a final gambling tax rate.

The Toledo-Lucas Port Authority entered into a closing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to preserve the tax-exempt status for $3.5 million of 2005 bonds after the IRS found they were taxable.

CHICAGO — Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson warned this week that the loss of state funding directed to local governments in Gov. John Kasich’s proposed 2012-2013 budget would force him to lay off up to 7% of the city’s workforce and would devastate Ohio’s largest cities.

CHICAGO — Two weeks after it hit Cleveland with a credit downgrade, Fitch Ratings has cut the rating on $835 million of bonds issued for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to A-minus from A.

CHICAGO — Fitch Ratings on Wednesday downgraded Cleveland to A-plus from AA-minus, warning that the city’s reserves are depleted as it faces fiscal challenges.

CHICAGO — Ohio lawmakers are eying a proposal to lease the state-controlled liquor ­distribution system for $1.2 billion to a newly formed private nonprofit entity.