Midwest

Fitch Ratings stripped Wayne County, Michigan's general obligation ratings of their investment grade over the county's rapidly deteriorating fiscal condition, in a five-notch superdowngrade.

The Justice Department and attorneys general from six states and the District of Columbia moved to block bankrupt American Airlines' proposed merger with US Airways under federal antitrust laws.

The Michigan Finance Authority will sell $92 million of state aid revenue notes for the Detroit Public School District next week in the first market offering to carry the Detroit name since the city's bankruptcy filing.

Over the years, Detroit's financial deterioration and the city's downturn have been well documented, so its bankruptcy filing came as little surprise to most market participants. This point can be reinforced by Interactive Data's analysis below of six different bonds issued by Detroit and related entities, which are representative of the types of debt and structures Detroit has issued.

Rising interest rates and lagging economic growth sidelined borrowers in the Midwest where issuance dipped by 12% to $34 billion during the first half of 2013 compared to the same time last year.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has announced more than $70 million in capital grant funding for 115 hospitals across the state.

Moody's said Monday that "novel" refinancing plans proposed by bankrupt Jefferson County, Ala., and Detroit are being threatened by rising interest rates and raise risks for investors.

Moody's Investors Service hit seven of eight Illinois public universities with a downgrade Friday including the flagship University of Illinois in action that cuts more than $2 billion of rated debt primarily over exposure to the state's fiscal woes.

Standard & Poor's has pushed Proctor Hospital's rating deeper into junk bond territory, lowering it to BB-minus from BB-plus and warning of the potential for further deterioration by assigning a negative outlook due to its poor cash position.

Minnesota Municipal Power plans to enter the market in the coming days with a $20 million sale of electric revenue bonds to help finance a bioEnergy project.