News and Information from Bond Buyer

Illinois bonds gained after lawmakers approved a pension overhaul and New York tobacco bonds generated demand from retail investors, limiting damage in the municipal market as fixed income securities slumped on positive economic news.

Regulatory officials, analysts and lawyers told state treasurers Wednesday that their approaches to municipal bond disclosure are of the utmost importance in the wake of recent Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions.

The Internal Revenue Service has told Avondale, Ariz. that it believes $29.8 million of Build America Bonds it issued in 2009 do not qualify for subsidy payments because of tax law violations.

Standard & Poor's raised its unenhanced rating on North Providence, R.I.'s general obligation debt two levels to A from BBB-plus, citing new local GO criteria.

Investors endorsed Illinois’ pension restructuring legislation with state paper trading at tighter spreads while rating agencies, though cautious, called the overhaul a positive step.

Jefferson County, Ala., says its bankruptcy adjustment plan was implemented at 1:20 p.m. eastern time Tuesday, though objectors filed notices of appeal.

New York City Comptroller John Liu’s office has filed a lawsuit asking the New York State Supreme Court to enforce the comptroller’s rights under the city charter to access city Department of Finance tax records necessary to audit finance’s collection of the general corporation tax, The Bond Buyer's Paul Burton reports.

Auction house Christie's said a slice of Detroit's art collection could be worth between up to $846 million, far less than creditor speculations.

California water and sewer utilities have performed well in the past year, with the average agency rated AA, according to Fitch Ratings.

New York City Comptroller John Liu’s office wants New York's Supreme Court to access city Department of Finance tax records, while the department says the law ties its hands.

Massachusetts will hold its third annual investor conference, which Treasurer Steven Grossman touts as art of the commonwealth's enhanced investor disclosure program.

Coalition of labor and business executives support legislation to raise the federal gasoline tax by 15 cents per gallon to fund transportation infrastructure.

Former Bear Stearns managing director Roberto "Bobby" Ruiz was sentenced to two years in federal prison for his role in a massive El Paso County corruption case.

The economy grew at a "modest to moderate pace" in October and the first half of November, according to the Beige Book report, released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

The market for tax-exempt municipal bonds got a jolt of energy Wednesday morning with the issuance of $1.2 billion of New York tobacco settlement bonds, even as yields softened across most of the maturity spectrum. In Chicago, an approval by lawmakers to overhaul Illinois' pension funds stoked interest in that state's bonds.

It is going to be very difficult for the 2 million Puerto Ricans who do not live in poverty to pay $68 billion of principal, plus tens of billions of interest, plus uncertain amounts of swap termination fees, plus billions of unfunded pension obligations. How was it possible for all this debt to have been accumulated?

Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded to A2 from A1 the rating on Willard City School District, Ohio's general obligation debt.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Azusa, Calif.'s water revenue bonds to A2 from A3 citing the weak financial position of the city and impacting $54 million in debt.

Boise School Board President A.J. Balukoff joined the 2014 Idaho governor’s race, seeking to unseat incumbent C.L. “Butch” Otter.

New York City could save $535 million in fiscal 2015 by requiring city employees and retirees to contribute to health insurance costs, the Independent Budget Office said.