Economy

More than half of those polled by the University of Arkansas in a recent telephone survey favor a proposed sales tax increase to support $1.3 billion of state highway revenue bonds.

A proposed merger between two large nonprofit healthcare systems is a credit positive for the nonprofit healthcare sector, Moody's Investors Service says.

An association representing safety-net hospitals is lobbying Congress to restore cuts that are built into the new federal health care law.

The New York State Thruway Authority picked Tappan Zee Constructors to begin negotiations on a contract to construct the new $5 billion Tappan Zee bridge.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo received the Energy Highway Task Force's blueprint for additional electric generation and transmission capacity.

Raising the base fare on New York subways and buses to $2.50 is the most likely fare-increase scenario, said Joseph Lhota, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Connecticut officials celebrated the completion of the Arrigoni Bridge overhaul two months ahead of schedule.

Crittenton Hospital, in an affluent suburb of Detroit, comes to market Tuesday with $108M of new-money and refunding bonds.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois qualified 10 financial advisory firms to assist the agency on future bond deals and other fiscal transactions over the next five years.

Fitch Ratings lowered West Penn Allegheny Health System's $737 million revenue bonds CCC from B-plus, citing uncertainty over its proposed Highmark affiliation.

Fitch placed the A rating of revenue bonds for Medford, Ore. continuing care retirement community Rogue Valley Manor on negative watch due to the potential impact of a lawsuit.

City of Hope, a Los Angeles County research hospital, received a bump from a stable to positive outlook on its A1 Moody's rating.

California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Jay Hansen to the California Health Facilities Financing Authority.

Spaceports are popping up all over the U.S., as both existing airports and brand new facilities position themselves to profit from a new age of commercial space travel and transport, but the industry is still in its infancy.

Catholic Health Initiatives of Colorado will carry $6 billion of debt after this week's issue of $1.5 billion of taxable bonds to expand its network, a fact that cost the health-care giant a downgrade from three ratings agencies.

Voters in unincorporated Ascension Parish, La., will vote on a 0.5% sales tax that would support $80 million of revenue bonds for road improvements.

The Louisiana will sell $350 million of state road bonds at one time rather than spreading the deal into three tranches, on the advice of Treasurer John Kennedy.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's new chief executive, Keith T. Parker, signed a five-year contract with a base salary of $320,000 a year.

Moody's said the ongoing wave of mergers sweeping the non-profit health care sector led to an uptick in upgrades during the third quarter and could reverse earlier expectations that downgrades would outpace upgrades for the full year.

Elgin-Ill.-based Sherman Health System has signed a letter of intent to join Illinois' largest not-for-profit health care system Oak Brook, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care.