Wisconsin

CHICAGO — Moody’s Investors Service late last week downgraded two of five Wisconsin school districts, citing fiscal pressures posed by risky investments in collateralized debt obligations with a credit default swap to fund their other post-employment benefit liabilities.

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 — Moody’s Investors Service placed on negative watch five Wisconsin school districts involved in a risky investment to help fund their other post-employment benefits. The move follows Depfa Bank Plc’s decision last month to demand repayment of notes issued to fund the investment.

The office of the Wisconsin insurance commissioner ordered troubled bond guarantor Ambac Assurance Corp. to deposit the more toxic holdings of its insured portfolio into a newly-created account that the office will administer.

CHICAGO — Depfa Bank Plc has formally demanded repayment of its $165 million loan to five Wisconsin school districts, calling on them to make good on their moral obligation pledge to repay the funds used to establish trusts to help pay other post-employment benefit liabilities.

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded St. Croix County to Aa2 from Aa3, affecting $10.9 million of general obligation debt. The review came ahead of the county's planned issue this week of $3.36 million of taxable promissory notes.

CHICAGO — Wisconsin will competitively sell $322.6 million of new-money tax-exempt general obligation bonds and taxable GO Build America Bonds tomorrow to finance traditional “bricks and mortar” projects around the state, and will return next week with a roughly $150 million negotiated GO refunding.

CHICAGO — The Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority has maintained a sound financial position but has bypassed state law to over-compensate its longtime executive director, Lawrence Nines, according to a legislative audit bureau review.

CHICAGO — Menasha will seek voter approval in an April 6 referendum to sell its electric utility assets in a deal that would help the Wisconsin city resolve a bondholder lawsuit stemming from its default on $23 million of bond anticipation notes issued for a now-shuttered steam plant.

Standard & Poor’s last week ­upgraded by one notch to A-plus its rating on the Plymouth Joint School ­District due to its maintenance of strong reserves.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle last week signed legislation that advances state efforts to capitalize on its share of recovery zone facility bonds authorized in the federal stimulus program.

CHICAGO — Wisconsin yesterday priced $131 million of new-money and refunding clean-water revenue bonds, the first in a series of three state deals over the next month, including a restructuring of more than $200 million of general obligation bonds for budget savings this year.

CHICAGO — Milwaukee today will competitively issue $130 million of general obligation promissory notes and another $16 million of taxable notes and bonds to raise funds for various capital projects and to refund commercial paper.

CHICAGO — A Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that a lawsuit filed by five southeastern Wisconsin school districts against several financial firms over the safety of an investment involving synthetic collateralized debt obligations can proceed.

CHICAGO — Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle this week outlined a broad agenda for his final year in office, calling on the Legislature to provide property-tax breaks for homeowners and pass measures that promote job growth, hand control of the Milwaukee Public Schools over to the city’s mayor, and establish a Milwaukee-area regional transit agency.

CHICAGO — Menasha, Wis., must turn over public records related to the operations of its now-shuttered steam utility plant to an investor who holds $2 million of the city’s $23 million of defaulted bond anticipation notes issued for the plant, a judge ordered yesterday.

CHICAGO — Repayment of about $46 million of taxable tribal gaming revenue bonds from a $50 million issue on behalf of the Lac du Flambeau tribe in Wisconsin remains in question as investors decide their next move, following a federal judge’s dismissal of their case seeking to enforce their bond indenture rights.

Milwaukee yesterday sold $12 million of its planned $50 million qualified school construction bond issue for the Milwaukee Public Schools, putting the remainder off until next year, when it will use a negotiated sale.

A handful of Midwestern state housing authorities, most of them shut out of the credit market this year, are acting to take advantage of the U.S. government's temporary new-issue bond program to jump-start their ability to provide new mortgages.

CHICAGO — The Menasha Common Council and city utilities commission this week advanced plans that could resolve the Wisconsin city’s debt troubles and a bondholder lawsuit stemming from its now-shuttered steam plant by selling the facility to WPPI Energy.