Bankruptcy

Quincy Medical Center Inc. has sought bankruptcy protection as a part of a plan for Steward Health Care System LLC of Boston to take it over.

WASHINGTON — The House Transportation Committee chairman said Thursday he wants bond provisions in a bill he plans to introduce that would fund highway and transit programs for six years.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve a final rule that would significantly expand its powers to police fraud and manipulation in the swaps market.

WASHINGTON - JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $228 million to settle criminal and civil charges stemming from former employees' fraudulent bid-rigging of at least 141 municipal bond-related reinvestment contracts involving state and local issuers and conduit borrowers in at least 31 states over eight years.

Legislation that would make it harder for California municipalities to file for bankruptcy stalled in committee Wednesday.

Novak Consulting Group will release its finalized financial recovery plan for Harrisburg at 10 a.m. Friday. It will post the plan, with adjusted recommendations for Pennsylvania's troubled capital city, at that time on the websites of Cincinnati-based Novak Consulting and the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley softened his stance on supporting bankruptcy for Jefferson County last week, according to the Birmingham News.

South Dakota state officials said last week they had reached an agreement on a new gambling contract with the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe just days before the start of a federal trial over the dispute.

CHICAGO - Attorneys for state retirees in Colorado and Minnesota are weighing whether to appeal court decisions last week dismissing litigation that challenged legislative cuts to pension cost-of-living hikes but fear that such rulings will "embolden" other cash-strapped states eying ways to ease pension costs.

Gov. Tom Corbett late Thursday night signed a bill to prevent Harrisburg and other distressed small-to-medium-sized cities in Pennsylvania from filing for bankruptcy protection - at least for the next year - under the threat of losing all state aid.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has entered the probe into questionable payments by Harris County to two brokers involved in county investment transactions.

Little Rock lawyer Sheffield Nelson has filed a revision with the secretary of state’s office to his proposal that would amend the Arkansas constitution and increase the state severance tax on natural gas to help fund maintenance of city, county and state roads.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority bondholders did not get paid July 1, according to the Florida agency's trustee, Bank of New York Mellon.

DALLAS - The Austin City Council has paved the way for promoters of a Formula One race to receive $25 million per year from the Texas comptroller's office over the next decade, but a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state subsidy still stands in the way.

WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission may appeal a recent federal court decision tossing out an auction-rate securities case the agency brought against Memphis-based Morgan Keegan & Co.

Nevada Treasurer Kate Marshall issued a statement earlier this month in reaction to what she considered misreporting on the state's debt burden.

Chowchilla has made its full June interest payment on its lease revenue bonds after previously defaulting and using up its reserve fund.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills tied to the budget Wednesday that will effectively eliminate most redevelopment agencies, sparking a legal battle.

A New York appeals court ruled that bond insurer MBIA Insurance Corp. can proceed with fraud claims against Countrywide Home Loans Inc., when the court Thursday denied Countrywide's motion to dismiss the case.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A last-ditch effort to prevent the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority in northwest Florida from a bond payment default has failed and the remaining member of the board plans to resign next week.