Economy

The board of New York’s MTA approved a contract with Kawasaki Rail Car for up to $1.8 billion to design and build rail cars for LIRR and Metro-North Railroad.

Carmen Bianco's presidency of New York City Transit is now permanent, MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast announced.

Moody's Investors Service affirmed ratings on $6.5 billion of debt issued by 14 California transit agencies and revised outlooks to stable.

A Cook County Circuit Court judge rejected Chicago's efforts to trim the size of a $58 million arbitration award won by the private operators of four downtown city and park district-owned parking garages.

Moody's Investors Service placed the Baa1 rating of UMass Memorial Health Care on review for downgrade, affecting $299 million in rated debt outstanding.

Long Island Rail Road and local private-sector unions have reached an agreement designed to reduce labor costs on seven major construction projects by nearly 11%.

San Antonio's Via Transit should abandon plans for a $280 million modern streetcar line because of a $70 million funding gap, according to State Rep. Lyle Larson.

North Carolina has cleared the first of two legal challenges over a $215.8 million project to replace the aging Bonner Bridge in the state’s Outer Banks.

Fitch Ratings by Kern County, Calif. ratings on negative watch over financial woes being experienced by a county-owned hospital.

Wisconsin-based Meriter Hospital's steep losses at its affiliated for-profit health plan prompted Moody's Investors Service to downgrade its rating by one notch to A2 and the agency warned of further deterioration by assigning a negative outlook.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport continues its record-setting pace for bond issuance Tuesday with a $259 million refunding deal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the operator of Miami-Dade County, Fla.'s largest hospital with defrauding investors by failing to disclose its financial woes prior to an $83 million bond offering.

Indiana University Health, the state's largest health care system, announced Sept. 11 that it will lay off 800 employees by the end of the year to save money.

A measure to restore some funding that Orange County, Calif., lost during changes in apportionment of a state vehicle license fee passed the California legislature.

Falling traffic and growing competition from Denver International Airport led Standard & Poors to downgrade Colorado Springs Airport revenue bonds to BBB-plus.

To keep the ball rolling on building a new $3.9 billion Tappan Zee Bridge, the New York Thruway Authority will sell a $700 million bond anticipation note.

A bankruptcy judge confirmed American Airlines’ reorganization plan but its exit from Chapter 11 depends on resolution of the antitrust lawsuit against its merger with US Airways Group.

Washington is planning to sell $295 million of bonds backed by federal highway grants next week to continue financing its floating bridge project over Lake Washington.

The Illinois Finance Authority advanced borrowing plans by Presence Health and several other elementary and higher education institutions totaling more than $400 million this week.

Moody's Investors Service expects an increase in toll roads and toll-supported projects, the ratings agency said in a report.