Economy

CHICAGO - Indiana-based Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. hopes to try again soon to get a long-postponed new-money deal sold, possibly by next week.

DALLAS — Baylor Health Care System recently unveiled plans to build a $350 million cancer hospital and cancer outpatient center at its main campus in downtown Dallas.

New Jersey received $7.4 billion of good news this week as an outside actuarial report now pegs the state's unfunded other post-employment benefit liability at $50.65 billion, down from the previous years' shortfall of $58.59 billion.

Florida’s controversial first leasing of an existing toll road is bogged down due to the volume of questions and comments received from the six consortiums asked to submit bids, the Florida Department of Transportation said in a notice on Monday.

While a $12.8 billion long-term lease bid for the Pennsylvania Turnpike expired this week, Gov. Edward Rendell plans to revisit the issue in the next two-year legislative session.

President Bush has signed into law a short-term appropriations bill to keep the federal government in operation through March 6, and a six-month stopgap measure that will fund the Federal Aviation Administration and its airport construction grant program through the end of that month. Both laws include bond-related provisions totaling more than $8 billion.

CHICAGO - After postponing a planned bond issue this week amid ongoing market turmoil, the Wayne County Airport Authority - operator of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport - hopes to enter a more stable market within the next few weeks with its third refunding issue in the last five months.

CHICAGO - After years of near financial collapse, Detroit's largest safety-net hospital is enjoying its fourth straight year of operating profitability and now hopes to enter the bond market for the first time in a decade to generate proceeds that would continue to bolster that performance.

New York will study the potential privatization of state assets through long-term leases, Gov. David Paterson announced yesterday. Public-private partnerships could allow the state to leverage its assets to make investments in long-term infrastructure projects, the governor's office said.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority’s executive director, Brian McPartlin, announced last week he would step down later this month to take a private-sector job.

WASHINGTON - Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials postponed the sale of $175 million airport system revenue bonds that was scheduled to come to market today in a negotiated deal after market conditions remained uncertain yesterday.

CHICAGO - Chicago would receive $2.52 billion under a pioneering lease agreement that, if approved by city and federal authorities, would hand over operations of Midway Airport to a private consortium - Midway Investment and Development Co. LLC - for 99 years, Mayor Richard Daley announced yesterday.

Fitch Ratings assigned a negative watch to the outstanding debt issued through the Indiana Health Facilities Financing Authority on behalf of retirement facility Marquette Manor.

DALLAS - Utah lawmakers are bracing for a difficult regular legislative session in January after covering a $354 million budget shortfall in a special session last week.

CHICAGO - The Civic Federation of Chicago, a local, business-funded government watchdog group, is launching a new institute with a multi-year grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation aimed at highlighting Illinois' fiscal health and influencing policy decisions.

Congress over the weekend approved and delivered to President Bush a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government at current levels for more than five months and authorize $6.5 billion of bond-related community development funds. But a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package that was approved in the House Friday seemed unlikely to get full congressional approval as of yesterday.

CHICAGO - Following Chicago's lead, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is advancing plans to pursue the privatization of Mitchell International Airport, including $500,000 in his proposed $1.4 billion 2009 budget to hire a consultant to help put together a lease deal.

DALLAS - With $756 million of debt waiting to be issued, Denver is hoping conditions might improve enough today to get one of three deals out the door.

CHICAGO - Chicago-based Ziegler Capital Markets is seizing on business opportunities arising from the turmoil at Wall Street's investment banks, adding 17 professionals to its tax-exempt staff and pursuing business with larger hospitals that might feel neglected by their Wall Street bankers.

WASHINGTON - The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for months has been planning to bring $175 million of revenue bonds to market in a negotiated deal on Wednesday. But MWAA officials, like those of many other issuers, say the pricing of their deal will depend on what, if any, action Congress takes over the weekend to quell turmoil in the financial markets.