Economy

Only weeks after downgrading the credit, Moody’s Investors Service this week revised its outlook on William Beaumont Hospital to negative from stable as it prepares to issue $169 million of revenue bonds.

A month after it was forced to purchase a chunk of its own debt when it was unable to access the frozen credit markets, a Kalamazoo-based hospital plans to try again early next month.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The North Carolina Turnpike Authority plans next week to announce a concessionaire to enter into a pre-development agreement for the Mid-Currituck Bridge project, the agency's first public-private partnership.

CHICAGO - The Minnesota Metropolitan Airports Commission will vote next month on a $125.8 million capital budget, as a $800 million terminal expansion remains on hold and officials await a proposal from Delta Air Lines over repayment of commission-backed bonds issued for the former Northwest Airlines.

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama yesterday announced his economic team and said he has directed them to draft a broad, multibillion-dollar stimulus package within the next two months that would provide funds for infrastructure projects. He also warned that the deficit will grow significantly whether or not stimulus legislation is enacted and did not rule out repealing Bush administration tax cuts before they expire.

DALLAS - Utah has halted $3.9 billion of road projects representing all new construction amid a worsening budget crunch, officials said.

The Triborough Bridge connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx was renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge last week, but don’t look for TBTA — Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority — debt to be renamed “RFKBTA” bonds.

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., have introduced a bill that would provide up to $8 billion of private-activity bonds for high-speed rail projects, as well as create a new category of tax-credit bonds to further encourage rail development.

A plan to increase tolls in Massachusetts is facing resistance from legislative leaders, while Gov. Deval Patrick works on a plan to dismantle the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority even though rising debt service costs necessitate additional revenue for the agency in the short term.

The once high-profile plan to use a public-private partnership to build a rail link between Oakland International Airport and the Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s rail system appears to have expired quietly.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled a beggar's budget yesterday that threatens draconian service cuts and fare and toll increases if it doesn't get help from the city, state and federal governments. In order to close a $1.2 billion gap in 2009, the MTA would reduce staff and cut subway lines and bus routes as well as hiking tolls and fares to yield an additional 23% of revenue.

CHICAGO - Chicago's $8 billion O'Hare International Airport runway reconfiguration and expansion program marked a major milestone yesterday with the official opening of the first new runway amid questions over airlines' financial support for the future phases of the massive construction project.

CHICAGO - The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board yesterday approved a $1.8 billion, bond-financed plan to build new interstate interchanges and add bus and ride-sharing commuter lanes - investments billed as the second phase of the $6.3 billion congestion-relief program now underway.

CHICAGO - A few months after postponing a $583 million bond sale and suffering downgrades from all three rating agencies, Royal Oak, Mich.-based Beaumont Hospitals this week announced a $60 million turnaround plan that will include layoffs, pay cuts, and a delay in construction projects.

The New York State Thruway Authority yesterday approved a $1.16 billion budget for 2009 that includes increased bonding over the current year.

CHICAGO - In the first deal of its kind, a Federal Home Loan Bank recently provided a letter of credit for a tax-exempt health care bond issue that participants said offers an attractive option for smaller issuers struggling to secure credit enhancement in the current market.

Any economic stimulus plan considered by Congress should include proposals for infrastructure spending and state aid, economists told members of the Senate Budget Committee at a hearing yesterday.

New Orleans will pay up to $79 million to buy 70 acres of land north of downtown for a planned Veterans Affairs hospital and to relocate the residents.

BRADENTON, Fla. - In a difficult market for issuers with top ratings, let alone a new credit with a large amount of debt to sell, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority hopes to get into the bond market early in December for its first-ever issuance - a $650 million deal to finance its first project.

CHICAGO - Michigan lawmakers are expected to tackle the issue of transportation funding in their upcoming lame-duck session, mulling a slew of new revenue options ranging from reconfiguring the state's gas tax and implementing tolls on major highways to hiking the sales tax.