Tennessee

The Tennessee Valley Authority said it priced $1 billion of 50-year global power bonds on Sept. 21 at an all-time low interest rate of 4.25%.

Issuers in the Southeast sold $41.56 billion of bonds in the first half of 2015, an 85% increase in year-over-year volume fueled by refundings and a slight uptick in new-money sales.

The Tennessee State School Bond Authority closed on a bond offering May 7 that saved the state $12.9 million in addition to financing construction projects at colleges and universities.

The Tennessee State School Bond Authority is bringing $460 million of higher education facilities bonds to market on Wednesday.

Tennessee highway coalition drums up support for an increase in state taxes and fees for infrastructure projects.

Tennessee has $5.9 billion in outstanding debt, and reduced its GO bonds by $175 million, state comptroller Justin Wilson said in the state's semi-annual debt report.

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., plans to restructure its medical center as a separate nonprofit over the next year to adapt to the changing health care environment.

Tennessee has deferred $400 million of highway projects until 2016 because of concerns the Highway Trust Fund will be insolvent again in May.

South Florida's Broward County School District wants voters to OK $800 million in GO bonds on Nov. 4, which leads a slate of referendums on ballots across the Southeast.

Fitch revised its outlook to stable from negative on Tennessee's Memphis International Airport bonds despite losing Delta Air Lines' hub.

Tennessee's revenue collections exceeded estimates in August by 3.7%, said Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin.

Citing a robust financial position, S&P raised its rating to AA from AA-minus on the Tennessee's Jackson Energy Authority's wastewater revenue bonds.

Southeast municipal bond issuers sold $21.78 billion of debt in the first six months of the year, a 31.4% decline driven by fewer taxable and refunding deals.

Tennessee won the best pricing in 15 years on $345 million of bonds this week, said Sandra Thompson, director of the Office of State and Local Finance.

Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term rating to A from AA-minus on bonds issued for Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp., Tenn., citing losses.

Three consumer advocacy groups filed a lawsuit accusing Tennessee of implementing policies that deny health coverage to individuals eligible for TennCare.

Tennessee plans to price $210 million of new and refunding GO bonds Wednesday in the gilt-edged state's first foray into the market in two years.

New laws in Tennessee laws prohibit state aid to fiscally distressed local governments and tighten requirements for local governments that use balloon or backloaded debt.

Moody's said a financial advisory firm's recommendation against the federal government divesting the Tennessee Valley Authority is a credit positive.

Memphis, Tenn., recently closed on the sale of $208 million of general obligation bonds after a marketing effort that allowed underwriters to drop yields.