News and Information from Bond Buyer

Government

Fitch Ratings warned it would cut its rating on $5.7 billion of Detroit's water and sewer debt to as low as D if the bankruptcy court approves the city's current plan of debt adjustment.

U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer Jr., whose liberal rulings on civil liberties generated a firestorm of criticism and who more recently presided over a municipal bond bid-rigging trial, died at age 81.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., will propose a 12 cent per gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax to support highway and transit projects.

Puerto Rico's $3.5 billion general obligation issuance bonds, sold in March, drew much interest in the secondary this week because of the muni rally, traders say.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its rating and underlying rating to A from A-minus on the Washington Health Care Facilities Authority's hospital revenue bonds (series 2005A, 2005B, and 2010) issued on behalf of Overlake Hospital Medical Center.

Bert A. Betts, who served as California's state treasurer in the 1950s and 1960s, has died at age 90.

A House representative has introduced a bill to an 11-bill package tied to Detroit's bankruptcy that would allow the city's mayor to sit on a key oversight board.

San Pablo, Calif., acting as successor agency to its former redevelopment agency, is planning to a $52 million refunding deal to save millions in debt service payments.

The Southern California Logistics Airport Authority is using tax increment distribution revenue to cure most bond defaults, but will default on new payment, according to a document posted on EMMA.

A bill introduced in the Senate mirrors legislation pending in the House proposal to remove the state volume cap on private activity bonds issued for water utility projects.

State and local governments would have to disclose their net or total liabilities for other post-employment benefits on the face of their financial statements under new draft guidance approved this week by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

Pittsburgh, through consultants Public Financial Management and Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, has filed an update to its financial recovery plan under Pennsylvania's Act 47 workout program for distressed communities.

Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr said Detroit would be more attractive to Wall Street than ever once the bankrupt city emerges from Chapter 9 bankruptcy later this year.

The Federal Transit Administration awarded about $167 million to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and $67 million to New Jersey Transit to help both agencies continue rebuilding and replacing after Hurricane Sandy.

Issuers are disclosing more failures to comply with their continuing disclosure agreements than in past months - a development some market participants said stems from a Securities and Exchange Commission's program encouraging them and their underwriters to self-report instances in which bond documents falsely stated the issuer was in compliance with its CDA.

Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded to Baa2 from Baa1 the issuer rating assigned to Presence Health, Ill., and the ratings of Resurrection Health Care and Provena Health as parity obligations under the Presence Health master indenture.

The Bond Buyer's muni bond indexes mostly strengthen in the week ending May 29.

Municipal mutual funds reported inflows declined to $634.5 million in the week ended May 28 from $663.6 million of inflows the week before.