News and Information from Bond Buyer

Chicago is prepping two general obligation bond sales that will offer the first test of the market's appetite for the city's GO paper since being slapped with two three-notch downgrades over its pension woes.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its rating on Onondaga Civic Development Corp., N.Y.'s series 2012 tax-exempt revenue bonds, issued for St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center (SJH), one notch to BB from BB-plus.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette Monday asked a federal appeals court to expedite a decision on whether Detroit can cut its pensions, calling it a question of national importance.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $32 billion of two-year notes with a 3/8% coupon at a 0.380% yield, a price of 99.990047.

Yields on municipal bonds are bouncing up after reaching a bottom as a result of a three-week rally, traders speculated.

Puerto Rico unemployment rate jumped to 15.4% in December from 14.7% in November.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $10 billion of four-week bills at a 0.050% high yield, a price of 99.996111.

Massachusetts will advance its timetable by four years to 2036 for fully funding its pension system, under the budget Gov. Deval Patrick's administration has proposed.

For the first time, the South Florida Bond Traders Association will include issues of interest to the municipal bond market in its Feb. 6-8 conference.

A bipartisan agreement on a farm bill includes a one-year extension of funding for the federal payments in lieu of taxes program through fiscal 2014.

Municipal bond yields were mixed Tuesday morning as investors waited for primary market issuance. Secondary trading continued to offer the best prices on bonds, traders said.

Texas service sector activity picked up January, according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index grew to 18.1 from 16.8.

A new report says Kentucky and Indiana saved $300 million on the Ohio River Bridges Project primarily because of design and construction efficiencies.

Service sector activity "remained flat overall" in January, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "maintained a steady pace of growth" in January, according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index dipped to 12 in January from 13 in December.

The consumer confidence index increased to 80.7 in January from a revised 77.5 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

U.S. durable goods orders slumped 4.3% in December, while excluding transportation orders fell 1.6%, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded the city of North Las Vegas, Nev., to Ba3 from Ba1.

Tuesday, January 28 Issuer St Description Amount

Tuesday, January 28 Issuer St Description Amount