News and Information from Bond Buyer

The Internal Revenue Service issued a favorable private-letter ruling to an issuer who planned to issue governmental and private-activity bonds to finance improvements to water facilities.

Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord pleaded guilty in a Harrisburg courtroom to two federal counts of attempted extortion.

Raymond James has hired banker Todd Barnes to join the firm's public finance group in Atlanta, and to focus on issuers in Georgia and South Carolina.

A $35.4 million issue of revenue bonds for a private detention center in Central Texas will retain tax-exempt status following a review by the Internal Revenue Service, according to a disclosure notice.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual Housing Starts Dec.: 1.087M Jan.: 1.070M Jan.: 1.065M Building Permits Dec.: 1.060M Jan.: 1.070M Jan.: 1.053M PPI Dec.: -0.2% Jan.: -0.4% Jan.: -0.8% PPI Core Dec.: +0.3% Jan.: +0.1% Jan.: -0.1% Industrial Production Dec.: -0.3% Jan.: +0.3% Jan.: +0.2% Capacity Utilization Dec.: 79.4% Jan.: 79.9% Jan.: 79.4%

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is expected to propose deeply slash state spending to erase billions of red ink in the fiscal 2016 budget without new taxes, legislative leaders said.

Industrial production gained 0.2% in January, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

Wednesday will be a busy day for munis as more than $1 billion of bonds are scheduled to come to market.

The New York region's service sector activity "leveled off," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's February Business Leaders Survey, released Wednesday.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it downgraded its rating to BBB from BBB-plus on Navajo County Unified School District No. 25 (Cedar), Ariz.'s series 2009 federal impact aid revenue bonds.

Oral arguments in the case challenging Illinois' 2013 public pension overhaul will be heard March 11.

Wednesday, February 18 Issuer St Description Amount

Wednesday, February 18 Issuer St Description Amount

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The Sterling, Ill., Park District is now teetering on the brink of junk bond status as it struggles with limited liquidity to deal with its fiscal pressures.

Government

Charles Schwab and New York agreed to settle a 2009 lawsuit in which the state accused the firm of promoting auction-rate securities as safe while failing to disclose the risks before the market for them froze.

The National Basketball Association's All-Star Weekend was a victory for New York City off the court generating an estimated $200 million in economic activity for the Big Apple, according to the NBA's commissioner.