Economy

WASHINGTON - The Montgomery, Md., County Council this week approved an east-west, light-rail system that would connect Montgomery and Prince George's counties, moving the $1.2 billion "Purple Line" project forward after more than 20 years of planning.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority will now use a pool of 32 investment banks when it issues debt rather than reviewing underwriter proposals each time it heads to market.

WASHINGTON - House members last night voted 244 to 188 to approve a $819 billion economic stimulus bill that they had amended to tighten transportation funding requirements for state and local governments.

DALLAS - Texas Gov. Rick Perry yesterday told lawmakers that the state's condition was "good," while acknowledging the impact of a deepening national recession that has sent energy and home prices plummeting and prompted massive bailouts for finance and automotive firms.

CHICAGO - The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission this week signed off on a new agreement with Delta Air Lines Inc. that allows the carrier to close its former Northwest Airlines Corp. local headquarters without triggering immediate repayment of $245 million of debt.

Mayor Richard Daley yesterday announced his selection of Chicago Transit Authority president Ron Huberman to replace Arne Duncan as Chicago Public Schools chief after Duncan’s departure earlier this month to serve in President Obama’s cabinet as education secretary.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its $358 billion stimulus spending package yesterday, sending it to the full Senate without any amendments after less than three hours of committee discussion.

CHICAGO - As Evansville, Ind.-based Deaconess Health System prepares to issue roughly $100 million in fixed- and variable-rate bonds, finance officials say they are hoping to take advantage of the growing appetite for tax-exempt health care debt among retail buyers.

DALLAS - East Baton Rouge Parish intends to take $110 million of sales-tax-supported road and street improvement bonds to market today, but officials will watch the market before deciding whether to issue the debt as scheduled.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans sell up to $2.59 billion of bonds in 2009, the agency said yesterday.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet today to vote on a stimulus spending bill that offers less funding than requested by water utilities, municipal housing finance officials, and some senators. The groups are pushing for a revision.

CHICAGO - Minneapolis-based Allina Hospitals and Clinics expressed surprise late last week at the Minnesota attorney general's decision to file a lawsuit against the system over the credit-card like interest rates it charges on medical debts, saying it had already decided to lower those rates.

The South Jersey Port Corp. last week sold $25.8 million of debt aided by radio and print advertisements for a sister bond deal as retail buyers held back on the bonds.

President Obama's cabinet grew last week as the Senate confirmed Shaun Donovan as the new secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Ray LaHood as head of the Department of Transportation.

CHICAGO - The Illinois Finance Authority expects OSF Healthcare System and Rush University Medical Center to soon join in on the slow trickle of struggling health care borrowers testing market interest in their sector's debt so far this year.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Florida's largest public-private project may be back on after all.

Responding to difficulties accessing the credit market with competitive deals, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday raised its maximum allowable interest rate on debt issuance to 12% from 8%.

CHICAGO - While the market has strengthened for many issuers over the last month, nonprofit health care providers continue to struggle to sell bonds at attractive prices - a problem that is likely to persist throughout 2009, Standard & Poor's predicted in a grim report on the sector issued yesterday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed yesterday that she will bring $358 billion of bond-related and other federal spending provisions to the House floor next week as part of the economic stimulus package.

CHICAGO - Two Midwestern hospitals have postponed plans for high-profile cancer treatment centers - of which only five now exist nationally - citing a weak bond market for health care projects.