News and Information from Bond Buyer

Prairie State Generating Co. has named Donald Gaston its new president and chief executive officer after a nationwide search.

Orange County, Fla. says its recent GO bond upgrade to AAA from Kroll Bond Rating Agency will help the county negotiate better financial deals.

The Philadelphia City Council rejected the mayor's proposed sale of the city's gas utility Monday.

Wisconsin's Mercy Health System and Illinois' Rockford Health System plan to join forces as soon as December pending regulatory approval.

Infrastructure upgrades would expand the economy and make the U.S. more resistant to climate change, a labor-environmental group says.

California's Controller, John Chiang, a Democrat will face off against Republican Greg Conlon, a businessman and former California Public Utilities Commission chair, in the race for treasurer to replace the retiring Bill Lockyer.

Michigan should enact protection of general obligation bonds to help the state's local governments in the wake of Detroit's treatment of its GOs as unsecured, says bankruptcy expert James Spiotto.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $29 billion of two-year notes with a 3/8% coupon at a 0.425% yield, a price of 99.9005293.

A preliminary pricing wire gives Tuesday's Three World Trade Center Tower Project deal wide spreads for investors able to participate.

The internal Revenue Service is conducting a targeted audit of Philadelphia's series 2010A water and wastewater revenue refunding bonds, $396.46 million of which were issued.

The state of Wisconsin and its local governments are facing relatively low levels of fiscal pressure from unfunded pension liabilities and costs, says Moody's Investors Service.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $34 billion of four-week bills at a 0.020% high yield, a price of 99.998389.

The municipal market's attention will be driven to the New York City skyline, as Goldman, Sachs & Co. prices the mammoth $1.63 billion unrated Three World Trade Center Tower Project deal.

Texas service sector activity "continued to expand in October," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index dropped to 14.0 from 26.9.

Service sector activity "strengthened further" in October, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "expanded" in October, according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index rose to 20 in October from 14 in September

The consumer confidence index gained to 94.5 in October from a revised 89.0 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Harrisburg has petitioned a Pennsylvania court to incorporate a nonprofit that will focus on long-term economic development and infrastructure improvements.

Standard & Poor's Rating Services said it lowered to BB-plus from BBB-minus its long-term rating on Hammond Local Public Improvement Bond Bank, Ind.'s series 2010A bonds, supported by the city of Hammond.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has placed its AA-plus rating on California Statewide Communities Development Authority's (NoHo Senior Artists Colony) series 2009 A-7 (Ginnie Mae-collateralized) multifamily housing revenue bonds on CreditWatch with negative implications.