News and Information from Bond Buyer

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will conduct a $452 million combination new money/refunding competitive sale Dec. 4 to pay for cost overruns on several projects.

Fitch Ratings said it maintains the Rating Watch Negative on Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's (DWSD) $1.1 billion BBB-plus senior lien water revenue bonds and $565 million BBB second lien water revenue bonds.

The bankruptcy judge overseeing Detroit's Chapter 9 case delayed a ruling on a $160 million borrowing plan to finance the city's lighting system due to possible conflict of interest by public finance firm Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone PLC.

Long-term municipal bond volume continued to trail last year’s pace as issuers sold 31.3% less in November than they did during the same period last year.

Trading volume fell by half on Wednesday even as dealers unloaded over $1 billion in bonds to customers ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The merger of American Airlines and US Airways Group can proceed as scheduled after a federal bankruptcy judge's clearance of the airlines' federal anti-trust settlement.

William Lynch has received a two-year extension to his term as state-appointed receiver for distressed Harrisburg, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania confirmed.

The Cobb County, Ga., Commission approved an agreement Nov. 26 to provide $300 million in public funding toward the Atlanta Braves new $672 million stadium and entertainment district.

A state board delayed a vote on an estimated $270 million parking lease deal for Harrisburg, Pa., one of two transactions essential to the city's recovery plan.

Jefferson County, Ala., is nearing the end of the nation's second-biggest municipal bankruptcy case as it prepares to close on the sale of $1.7 billion of new sewer warrants on Tuesday.

The sentencing for convicted bid rigger David Rubin, currently scheduled for Dec. 17, may be delayed until January at the request of his defense team.

Trading volume dropped Wednesday morning as the municipal bond market prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion of seven-year notes, with a 2% coupon, a 2.106% high yield, a price of 99.313835.

Potential volume for next week is $6,548.4 million, up from total sales of $652.2 million this week.

Most states across America increased the amount of their general fund dollars allocated to treat mental illness after slashing them during the height of the economic downturn.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday it will auction $32 billion 91-day bills and $28 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

While still fighting to shake its rust-belt image, Allentown, Pa., undertook two major transactions in the past year, including a downtown arena project.

An arrangement in which an authority issued bonds to finance facilities that are leased to a state would not cause the bonds to be private-activity bonds, according to a recent IRS private letter ruling.

Puerto Rico's short term problems are tied to a Greece-like debt trap whereby policies aimed at reducing its fiscal deficit deepen a recession that further widens the deficit, with no end in sight to the vicious cycle.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.2% in October following a revised 0.9% increase in September, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.