Economy

WASHINGTON — Increased reliance on public-private partnerships to fund construction of roads, rail, water, sewers, public buildings and other projects could save Maryland millions of dollars annually and create thousands of jobs, according to a state legislative commission report.

A recently abandoned plan to build a light-rail line in Detroit won new life last week when the federal government agreed to give local officials 90 days to refine a less costly plan.

With one of its two hub airlines in bankruptcy, Chicago officials breathed a bit easier last month when Moody’s Investors Service affirmed its ratings on Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s $5.6 billion of general airport revenue debt.

Dire warnings about the future of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission based on a $450 million-per-year infrastructure payment requirement are overstated, according to a research report.

The New York Senate on Monday confirmed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's nomination of Joseph Lhota as chairman and chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York City's transit system.

WASHINGTON — Public-private partnerships do not necessarily supply more funds for highway construction than traditional government financing, and spending by the private party must be restricted by budget caps or legal limits for states and localities to see benefits from P3s, a Congressional Budget Office study concluded Monday.

The Indiana Finance Authority has issued a request for qualifications from legal firms interested in serving as transaction counsel on the state's portion of the $2.6 billion bi-state Ohio River Bridges project.

Standard & Poor's has placed the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority's grant anticipation revenue bonds on credit watch with negative implications.

Connecticut and Jackson Laboratory finalized their agreement for the Bar Harbor, Maine, company to build a $1.1 billion personalized-medicine laboratory at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington.

Seattle-based Perkins Coie LLP has hired a trio of public finance attorneys who will work out of the firm's Chicago office to help expand its health care business.

Colorado Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to restore a funding formula benefitting transportation construction that was repealed under 2009 legislation.

Standard & Poor’s last Thursday lowered its long-term and underlying rating on two series of Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority bonds just two weeks after Fitch Ratings affirmed the agency’s ratings.

A peer review panel has recommended California hold off on borrowing billions of dollars for its estimated $98 billion high-speed passenger rail project.

A bipartisan House duo has introduced legislation that would authorize up to $50 billion of tax-credit bonds to be used over six years to finance transportation infrastructure projects, mirroring a bill pending in the Senate and garnering support from lobbyists even as some question whether such bonds could overcome expected hesitancy from investors.

The Illinois Department of Transportation will receive $186 million to continue construction on a high-speed rail line linking Chicago with St. Louis, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Wednesday.

Indiana lawmakers returned to work Wednesday for a short session that begins with controversial labor legislation but will also likely include bills advancing a $1.3 billion bond-funded mass transit plan and raising more revenue for cash-strapped local governments.

Kentucky and Indiana officials announced last week that they reached consensus on a basic plan to finance and build the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project.

Amid the biggest building binge in its history, the North Texas Tollway Authority ranked as the top debt issuer in the Southwest in 2011, with more than $2.1 billion sold, according to Thomson Reuters.

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Bellin Memorial Hospital one notch to A2 in recognition of its favorable operating performance.

Standard & Poor’s has raised the rating on the West Plains Industrial Development Authority’s revenue bonds issued for the Ozarks Medical Center to BB-minus, three notches below investment grade, from B-plus.