News and Information from Bond Buyer

Municipal Market Advisors' recent research on ratings seems to counter recently raised concerns that Standard & Poor's ratings for some local governments may be too high and out of step with current credit conditions.

Government

The Bond Buyer Indexes strengthened for the week ending Aug. 21.

Despite intense popularity for the short end of San Diego's Transportation deal, the Municipal Market Data triple-A 5% scale remains unscathed, with just strengthening in the long end.

Attorneys for Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that an investigation of how his donors won contracts from a state cancer research fund did not motivate him to veto funding for the investigators.

Suburban Cook County, Illinois' public safety pension funds are straining under a collective $3.3 billion of unfunded liabilities, according to a recent report.

S&P lowered its rating to AA-minus from AA on Berks County Municipal Authority, Pa.'s revenue refunding bonds, issued for Reading Health System.

Lockport, N.Y. government may run out of money by the end of August, a spokesman for New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Thursday.

A court-appointed receiver will oversee the operations of the troubled nonprofit that operates Connecticut's flagship replica slave vessel Amistad.

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority closes on a $1.3 billion federal loan to complete the final 11 miles of a light-rail line to Dulles International Airport.

A plan by New England's governors to expand natural gas capability is in question after Massachusetts tabled its support.

Florida's government pensions generally don't drive negative credit pressure partly because of the flexibility to change benefits prospectively, Moody's said.

A bill to put a $4.3 billion school facilities bond on the November ballot died in the California Senate in the face of opposition from Gov. Jerry Brown

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term rating and underlying rating to AA from AA-minus on Conroe, Texas' previously issued general obligation debt.

Dealers are objecting to new provisions added to the best execution standard the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval that would increase the information customers have to provide to be considered sophisticated municipal market professionals who are exempt from the standard.

Eager to hedge themselves against rising rates traders fought aggressively for San Diego's Regional Transportation Commission deal on Thursday morning to push rates as much as 17 basis points tighter than the Municipal Market Data triple-A 5% scale.

The Treasury Department Thursday auctioned $16 billion of four-year eight-month inflation-indexed notes with a 0.125% coupon, a negative 0.281% high yield, an adjusted price of 103.6230896

Moody's Investors Service said it has upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1 the rating on Strafford County, N.H.'s $16.3 million of outstanding general obligation bonds.

Former Congressman Mel Levine reappointed to board that sets policy for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Fitch Ratings said Detroit's offer to holders of $5.2 billion of water and sewer bonds to tender their debt as part of a bankruptcy settlement does not constitute a distressed debt exchange, an analysis that could bode well for ratings the planned refinancing of the debt.