Economy

Three months into its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, American Airlines Inc. has begun to show its hand to investors holding $3.2 billion of the carrier's special facilities revenue bonds by making good — at least for now — on some debt-related payments while moving as expected to shed other obligations.

LOS ANGELES — Officials at Downey Regional Medical Center are probably wondering if five will be their lucky number after the bankrupt Southern California hospital announced the fifth postponement of a planned bond buyback Monday in a disclosure filing.

The chairman and chief executive of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the timing is ideal for two bond sales in March, including a $400 million offering next week.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and House Transportation Committee chairman John Mica traded jabs over the funding of California's high-speed rail project Wednesday, the latest public display of the rift between House Republicans and the Obama administration over the future of American transportation.

The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said an audit report that upbraided the bistate agency is an effective wakeup call.

Sen. Ron Wyden is pushing for the highway and transit reauthorization bill to authorize a certain amount of TRIPs — tax-credit bonds that could be used for transportation projects.

Moody’s Investors Service last week downgraded Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare’s rating one notch to Baa2 due to the Illinois hospital operator’s modest operating performance for fiscal 2011 and the first half of fiscal 2012.

CHICAGO — The St. Paul Port Authority is set to issue a tender invitation in April to holders of the remaining $51.7 million of defaulted industrial revenue bonds as agreed to under a class action settlement aimed at resolving five-year-old litigation over the troubled 876 Bond Fund.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is proposing to sell as much as $500 million of grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds to finance upgrades to road and bridges in projects that his office would select after consulting with local leaders around the state.

CHICAGO — The Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic plans to enter the market this spring to borrow roughly $200 million of new money for projects as part of the clinic's plans to spend $700 million annually on capital improvements over the next five years.

After receiving rating upgrades from Standard & Poor's, the Maine Turnpike Authority is set for its negotiated sale on Monday of $68.8 million of Series 2012A turnpike revenue bonds and $70 million of Series 2012B revenue refunding bonds.

Detractors say the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is too big and secretive, overcharges commuters, carries way too much debt, and shouldn't run point for the World Trade Center redevelopment.

Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook to stable from negative and affirmed its BBB-plus ratings on the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency’s Series 2008 and 1998 bonds issued for the Boston Medical Center.

Some issuers of transit bonds are concerned that the transportation bill pending in the House might hurt their credit ratings.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority approved an agreement with the state Wednesday to move forward with one of Florida's most expensive toll roads: the nearly $2 billion Wekiva Parkway.

The Virginia House of Representatives has stripped language creating a statewide tolling authority from legislation proposed by Gov. Bob McDonnell, rejecting a model of road finance that has fallen out of favor in recent years but remains viable for other states, according to transportation experts.

The North Texas Tollway Authority is seeking two financial advisors after opening up its bidding process under new board policies.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Kentucky Turnpike Authority plans to price $256 million of new-money revenue bonds next week.

Amid uncertainty over the cost of building a new Tappan Zee Bridge, New York State officials are floating creative ideas about what to do with the current span after it is replaced.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will ask the Legislature to authorize $325 million of bonds to resurface and maintain almost 1,000 miles of state rural roads not eligible for federal matching grants.