Midwest

Under questioning from the federal judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy, bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc. said it would settle a year-long battle with the city for 75 cents on the dollar.

Bruce Cole, the head of Mamtek US, the firm that triggered a $39 million municipal bond default on debt sold for a Missouri sucralose plant, will go to prison as part of a plea deal.

Detroit's attorneys launched opening statements on the first day of a historic trial on the city's bankruptcy exit plan, arguing that the city may not survive without the debt adjustment plan and defending a deal to raise money backed by the art collection.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon wants an economic injury disaster declaration for Ferguson to secure low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration to aid businesses hurt by the large protests that followed a fatal police shooting of an unarmed teen.

The trustee on $8.5 million of revenue bonds issued to finance a wastewater treatment facility to support a now bankrupt meat processing company in a Chicago suburb has struck a deal to sell the bond-financed assets at a steep discount to the company that's taken over the bankrupt firm.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing bonds issued in 2011 for a charter school operator in Chicago that settled securities fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June.

Barring any last-minute settlements with bond insurers, Detroit will begin defending its plan to restructure debt and begin to rebuild the battered city.

The Michigan Finance Authority said it received orders from 30 firms on its $108 million state aid revenue note sale on behalf of Detroit Public Schools that saw a sharp drop from last year in interest rate penalties imposed on the struggling district.

The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy chastised bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc. for attacking federal mediators as biased and ordered the insurer to defend why it shouldn't face sanctions.

Moody's Investors Service slapped Burbank, Illinois with a downgrade and assigned a negative outlook to its A1 rating due to ongoing operating deficits and mounting pension woes.