Economy

The $5.2 billion Dulles Metrorail extension, all but dead nearly a year ago, was revived Wednesday when the Federal Transit Administration signed off on the plan, essentially guaranteeing $900 million of funding for a project that will be partly financed with more than $2 billion of tax-exempt bonds.

CHICAGO - The Chicago City Council overwhelmingly approved a 75-year lease of the city's parking meter system to a private group for $1.157 billion, just two days after Mayor Richard Daley unveiled the winning bid and his plans for the proceeds.

SAN FRANCISCO - Kevin Kone sold $90 million of notes with a 1.5% yield this week, and he's going on vacation.

After more than a year of effort, Atlanta finally has its first formal comprehensive transportation plan.

Declining revenues and a potential default event prompted Fitch Ratings late Tuesday to downgrade Saint Barnabas Health Care System to BB-plus from BBB, affecting roughly $900 million of debt. Fitch also revised the outlook to negative.

CHICAGO - Fitch Ratings yesterday revised to negative from stable its outlook on the U.S. not-for-profit hospital sector, citing a slew of capital and operational challenges.

CHICAGO - Mayor Richard Daley yesterday announced a winning bid of $1.157 billion from a private consortium to lease Chicago's parking meter system for 75 years, with more than half of the proceeds earmarked to see the city through the current recession.

DALLAS - A heavily traveled turnpike north of Austin will become the first part of a tollway system under a finance plan approved by regional planners.

Standard & Poor's downgraded the New York State Thruway Authority to A-plus with a stable outlook from AA-minus yesterday, affecting $2.4 billion of outstanding general revenue bonds.

Condell Medical Center in Libertyville has agreed to pay the federal and state governments $36 million under a settlement that resolves the 283-bed hospital’s improper collection of Medicare and Medicaid payments.

House Democratic leaders yesterday said they will have an economic recovery package ready for Congress to consider when it begins its new session on Jan. 6 that includes billions of dollars for infrastructure projects and other initiatives to spur job growth, as well as proposals from President-elect Barack Obama.

Charging New York motor vehicles registration fees based on weight could generate more than $1 billion for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. said last week.

CHICAGO - The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday announced it would hear Provena Covenant Medical Center's appeal of a lower court opinion that stripped the Urbana hospital of its property tax exemption for failing to provide sufficient charity care.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to competitively market $300 million of federally taxable notes on Wednesday. The deal will be the largest competitive municipal debt sale since the market froze up in mid-September following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

Swap agreements continue to plague the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, as the agency would need to pay approximately $450 million in combined termination fees in the event of further credit rating downgrades.

CHICAGO - Michigan's William Beaumont Hospital is expected to enter the market this week with roughly $170 million of revenue bonds after it significantly scaled back its capital plan in the face of operational challenges and a volatile credit market.

To stimulate investment in infrastructure and to boost domestic employment, Congress should permit pension fund purchasers of municipal bonds to reassign only the tax-benefit - the exemption feature - of those bonds to U.S. taxpayers seeking tax deductions.

New Jersey officials are holding out for better market conditions on a $169 million Solaris Health System refinancing that's part of the state's Hospital Asset Transformation Program.

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama yesterday vowed to work closely with state and local officials to craft his two-year, multibillion-dollar stimulus plan and stressed that it will focus on providing funding for transportation and infrastructure projects that are already underway or ready to go.

The Metro transit agency late last week approved a 50-cent fare increase in a move aimed at shoring up its operating budget following voter rejection earlier this month of a sales tax hike.