Detroit bankruptcy

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals set an accelerated two-week schedule to consider bond insurer Syncora Guarantee's appeal of a key decision in Detroit's bankruptcy case.

Detroit's newest bondholder settlement calls for a 66% haircut for limited-tax general obligation bondholders, a deal that's severe but unsurprising given Detroit's credit, muni experts said.

Syncora lost a key appeal in the Detroit bankruptcy case, giving the city continued access to crucial casino revenues.

Detroit's settlement with its limited-tax general obligation bondholders would repay them 34 cents on the dollar, the lowest recovery rate reached in a deal so far in the case.

A new assessment of Detroit's art collection puts its price tag at up to $4.6 billion, significantly higher than the city's first valuation and more in line with bond insurers' estimates.

All creditors in the Detroit bankruptcy case must vote on the city's debt adjustment plan by Friday, a key vote that will set the stage for an August trial and the city's effort to exit Chapter 9 by early fall.

Continuing its quest for documents tied to the sale of $1.4 billion of certificates of participation, Detroit Friday said it would subpoena one of the banks as well as public finance attorneys involved with the 2005 transaction.

A federal appeals court judge advanced bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc.'s appeal of a key decision about casino tax revenue in the Detroit bankruptcy case, ordering a lower court to review the challenge by July 14.

At least two bond insurers in the Detroit bankruptcy case will now enjoy the exclusive right to vote on the city's bankruptcy exit plan in place of individual bondholders.

Detroit alerted the federal bankruptcy court Wednesday of plans to issue a subpoena to the Bond Buyer for information about the city's controversial $1.4 billion pension certificates of participation sale, and a bond insurer subpoenaed a trio of public finance professionals for depositions in their case.

Syncora Guarantee Inc. is challenging bankrupt Detroit's April settlement with its unlimited-tax general obligation bondholders, saying it violates Michigan law.

Detroit's two interest-rate swap counterparties returned to court to complain that the city's plan of confirmation does not conform to the terms of the settlement they reached with the city.

The chief mediation in Detroit's Chapter 9 case has ordered the city to meet Monday with holders and insurers of $1.4 billion of certificates of participation to try to reach a settlement.

Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes blocked insurer Syncora's request to question the state attorney general, and gave a limited green light to plan for the city's proposal to take the court on a bus tour of the city as part of the upcoming trial.

Investors were not reluctant to buy the Detroit name when the Michigan Finance Authority priced $185 million of bonds for the Detroit Public Lighting Authority Wednesday.

As Detroit has shown, the Chapter 9 world and the municipal bond finance world often just don't speak the same language, according to Nixon Peabody LLP attorneys.

Detroit Tuesday defended its proposal to take Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes on a bus tour of the city as part of the plan of confirmation trial later this summer.

Syncora Guarantee Inc. has accused Detroit of pitting its pensioners against its financial creditors in a "torches and pitchforks" campaign, the insurer's latest salvo in a rising war of words between the two parties.

Bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. has subpoenaed Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Sean Werdlow, with Siebert Brandford Shank and a former Detroit CFO, for a deposition in the Detroit bankruptcy.

U.S. Chief District Judge Gerald Rosen, the top mediator in Detroit's bankruptcy case, has ordered the city into talks with water and sewer revenue bondholders, one of the few holdout creditors in the case.