Bankruptcy

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, floated an alternative proposal aimed at saving Atlantic City from insolvency that sets additional benchmarks for the distressed gambling hub before his previously-proposed state intervention would take effect.

The Natural Resources Committee has indefinitely delayed the vote that was planned for Thursday on the Puerto Rico bill as its members, Treasury Department officials and other stakeholders continue to try to address the concerns raised about the measure and change its provisions to ensure they can get enough votes to pass it.

San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said he might file a lawsuit to keep the initiative off November’s ballot, possibly benefiting a competing initiative that would include a new stadium for the San Diego Chargers.

The House Committee on Natural Resources is moving forward with a bill to help Puerto Rico that loosens provisions regarding the oversight board but still keeps the cram down and debt litigation moratorium portions of an earlier version that drew criticism.

With New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pushing for a state takeover of Atlantic City, members of the Republican governor’s administration were grilled by lawmakers Monday for allowing the gambling resort to plunge into distress.

The Securities Exchange Commission has charged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with securities fraud in a case involving a Texas-based technology company. Paxton was already under indictment in Texas for acting as an unregistered financial advisor.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat, filed suit Monday contending that budget cuts at nine public colleges and universities ordered by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin were illegal.

The Conroe Industrial Development Corporation in Texas has paid a penalty and agreed to redeem bonds under the Internal Revenue Service’s voluntary closing agreement program (VCAP) to settle a tax violation relating to bonds it issued in 2008 and refunded in 2012.

UMB Bank N.A., the bond trustee for Texas Pellets, accelerated the outstanding debt on $186.5 million of bonds due to a default at the company owned by German Pellets, which filed for insolvency in February.

The House Natural Resources Committee is expected to release a revised version of its Puerto Rico bill on Monday, including a modification designed to avoid a constitutional challenge if the legislation is enacted, sources said.

New Jersey's apparent willingness to let Atlantic City default may hurt the credit of other municipalities because it calls into question the state's future willingness to support distressed local governments, according to Moody's Investors Service.

With Atlantic City inching closer to insolvency, the gambling hub took another hit Tuesday with a judge ruling that the Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa can seek refunds for its 2011 through 2014 property tax bills.

Wayne County, Mich. closed out fiscal 2015 with a $5.7 million surplus, reversing a prior trend of deficits that led to state oversight, according to its audited financial reports.

Most municipal bond analysts believe Chapter 9 bankruptcy is taboo for municipalities and should be avoided, according to an analyst survey by PNC Capital Markets LLC.

A federal judge approved a $20 billion settlement with BP to resolve litigation brought by five Gulf coast states over the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The time may be ripe to rethink Michigan’s emergency management law after the Flint and Detroit Public Schools crises exposed flaws that critics say highlight how the law can fail citizens and ultimately hurt the state’s credit.

New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against Atlantic City seeking to recover more than $30 million the municipality owes its school district, Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency downgraded Chicago’s general obligation bond rating one notch to BBB-plus in response to the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision tossing its 2014 overhaul of two of its four pension funds.

San Bernardino’s bankruptcy settlement agreement with pension bondholders is a credit negative, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

A group of investors sued the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico Monday to protect their interests after the governor said the bank can't make its $423 million debt payment due May 1.