Economy

BRADENTON, Fla. — Four Florida cities that tried to take control of the planned high-speed rail project from Tampa to Orlando will be allowed to apply for the $2.4 billion of federal funds that Gov. Rick Scott has rejected for the plan, according to Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla.

DALLAS — The Arkansas House on Friday passed a bill calling for a statewide vote on a diesel-fuel tax hike to fund $1.1 billion of bonds for highway efforts.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Las Vegas Monorail Co. bondholder Eaton Vance has broken with other large holders of the bankrupt project’s debt to challenge the settlement that trustee Wells Fargo Bank NA negotiated with Wisconsin state regulators to commute the monorail’s bond insurance policy.

CHICAGO — The Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, a small A-plus-rated provider in southern Illinois, began planning a $45 million bond issue early last fall. But after months of watching interest rates climb in the public market, the hospital decided to privately place the debt with a bank.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation announced late Friday that it is opening up the $2.4 billion of federal high-speed rail money that was rejected by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to a competitive bidding process for states willing to take on new projects.

A group of Northeastern U.S. senators last week urged Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to direct $2.4 billion of federal high-speed rail funds to the Northeast Corridor line after Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejected them.

WASHINGTON — Fitch Ratings warned on Wednesday that grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds, known as Garvees, face heightened uncertainty as Congress struggles to reauthorize transportation spending.

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Sierra Kings Health Care District’s general obligation bonds to Baa3 from Ba2 after a federal judge ruled that GO debt service cannot be interrupted by the district’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing.

DALLAS — Colorado’s Regional Transportation District is putting off a decision on whether to ask voters for a sales tax increase to complete the $6.7 billion FasTracks rail plan by 2017.

Bonds issued by the Monongalia Building Commission on behalf of the Monongalia Health System in Morgantown have been upgraded to A-minus from BBB-plus by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority board advanced borrowing plans Tuesday for three central Illinois hospitals seeking to refund debt or raise funds for new projects, including $400 million for the Carle Foundation’s overhaul of its Urbana campus.

Cleveland Clinic chief executive officer and president Toby Cosgrove predicted the federal health care law would cost the prestigious facility $174 million in annual revenue beginning in 2015.

CHICAGO — Trinity Health Credit Group’s plan to buy Loyola University Health System should bolster the latter’s fiscal standing, though analysts say it’s too early to tell what impact the acquisition will have on Trinity’s balance sheet.

DALLAS — Texas transportation planning has shifted to the slow lane as state legislators seek record spending cuts and prepare to rewrite the law governing the Texas Transportation Commission.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott Friday rejected, once and for all, $2.4 billion of federal funds for a high-speed rail project as the state Supreme Court unanimously refused to overturn his decision.

CHICAGO — A hearing set for next week on Chicago’s request that a Cook County Circuit Court judge dismiss an airline lawsuit that seeks to block $3.36 billion of expansion projects at O’Hare International Airport was pushed back a week as settlement negotiations continue.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett last week appointed six new commissioners to the board of the Delaware River Port Authority.

In the 1930s, motorists paid 50 cents to drive through the Holland Tunnel, and a night at the Hotel Chesterfield in Jersey City cost $2.50.

BRADENTON, Fla. — In an effort to convince Gov. Rick Scott that Florida’s high-speed rail project is viable and as risk-free to taxpayers as possible, mayors and prominent business groups said Thursday that a proposal is on the table that answers Scott’s concerns.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wants to write a second chapter for the popular Build America Bond program, by reviving the federally subsidized taxable bonds to specifically fund transportation projects.