Midwest

CHICAGO –Indianapolis lost its top issuer credit rating from Standard & Poor's Tuesday over the rating agency's recent changes to its local general obligation credit criteria; it was dropped two notches.

Detroit's mayor-elect, Mike Duggan, will manage the bankrupt city's day-to-day operations under an agreement with the city's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, that was announced Thursday.

Auction house Christie's valued bankrupt Detroit's art collection at between $454 million and $867 million in a final assessment turned over to city emergency manager Kevyn Orr this week.

CHICAGO – A federal bankruptcy court judge abruptly suspended hearings on Detroit's proposed $350 million debtor-in-possession financing and settlement with its interest-rate swap counterparties Wednesday and urged the city to use the time to renegotiate the swaps termination deal.

The federal bankruptcy court judge overseeing Detroit's historic Chapter 9 filing pressed the city Wednesday for more information on its strategy behind the decision to negotiate a settlement with interest-rate swap counterparties.

Detroit had to pursue a settlement with the interest-rate swap counterparties on its pension certificates or risk the "cataclysmic" loss of access to casino revenues, the city's investment banker told the bankruptcy court Tuesday.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's push to create a new authority to take over troubled schools, a growing sore spot for the state, advanced last week when the Senate passed controversial legislation expanding the program.

St. Louis-based Stern Brothers & Co. is bulking up its staff with additional bankers and sales professionals.

The Minneapolis City Council approved plans for a $400 million development adjacent to the new Minnesota Vikings professional football stadium.

CHICAGO - Standard & Poor's lowered its rating on Western Illinois University to A-minus from A and assigned a negative outlook. It also revised its outlook on Governors State University's A-minus rating to negative.