Northeast

New Jersey selected Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help the state refinance its school construction debt and address letters of credit that are set to expire in 2011.

The Camden County, N.J. , Pollution Control Financing Authority will tap into various dedicated funds to avoid defaulting on $26.1 million of incinerator debt due Dec. 1.

A New York credit created last year to finance certain workers’ compensation costs will finally debut next week. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York plans to sell $97 million of taxable pledged assessment bonds, which are expected to price Dec. 2.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday revised Pittsburgh’s outlook to negative from stable as Pennsylvania’s second-largest city may face large pension contribution increases if its retirement fund falls under state oversight.

Stamford, Conn., plans to competitively market $35 million of bonds next week and take advantage of federal bond programs due to expire at the end of the year.

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency disclosed Friday that it is complying with an additional information request from the Internal Revenue Service as part of the IRS’ ongoing review of the agency’s student-loan bonds.

New York is likely to impose a property tax cap next year but its effectiveness could depend on local decision-makers, according to a commentary published Monday by a government think tank.

New York is reaching out to retail investors with a website launched to coincide with a $1.1 billion personal income tax bond deal next week. The deal is the first to appear on the site, which went live last month, and with a glut of year-end issuance ­driving muni rates sharply higher ­recently, extra marketing couldn’t hurt.

WASHINGTON — Washington County has been the only local government in Maryland to issue all of its allocated recovery zone facility bonds, and now it wants to squeeze the leftover RZFB juice from its neighbors too, just before the program expires at the end of the year.

California, New York, and Illinois are making a play for more than $1.2 billion of high-speed rail funding that was awarded to two Midwestern states whose Republican governors-elect plan to reject the grants.