Economy

A new passenger-rail tunnel that will run under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York could increase home values by $18 billion and generate $375 million of new property tax revenue for municipalities, a Regional Plan Association report released last week said.

Connecticut plans to apply for $220 million of federal funds to upgrade a rail corridor between New Haven and Springfield, Mass., Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced last week. If approved, the state would match the funds with $260 million of bond proceeds. The state Bond Commission will consider the issue when it meets Aug. 11.

WASHINGTON — Rating agencies have expressed serious concerns about the District of Columbia’s financial status, particularly regarding its foreclosure this month on a troubled hospital, according to a letter the chief financial officer sent to city officials Wednesday.

CHICAGO — All five southeastern Wisconsin school districts involved in a failed investment scheme tied to funding their non-pension retiree health care trusts are reneging on their moral obligation pledge to repay asset-backed notes issued by the trusts and sold to Depfa Bank Plc.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission chief executive officer Joseph Brimmeier Wednesday urged more tolling of interstate highways to help generate additional revenue for transportation needs.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday voted to hold hearings on fare and toll increases to help balance its 2011 ­budget.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has begun an outreach program to educate voters statewide about Senate Resolution 821, which was approved during the General Assembly’s session earlier this year.

Because Congress has failed to extend federal Medicaid assistance funds, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue last week ordered most state agencies to cut their budgets by 4%. Only the budget supporting K-12 schools was exempt from the cuts.

The Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority next month will sell $30 million of unrated tax-exempt revenue bonds to help finance a new equipment facility and terminal upgrades for US Airways at the Philadelphia International Airport.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to release a $12.04 billion preliminary budget for 2011 today, officials said.

DALLAS — The Port Authority of Houston is issuing $300 million of general obligation debt this week to take out commercial paper for the port’s expansion and refund bonds sold in 2008.

Moody’s Investors Service revised its outlook to stable from negative on Wheaton Franciscan Services Inc.’s Baa2 rating, citing progress in turning around its financial performance.

Standard & Poor’s last week revised its outlook to stable from negative and affirmed its A-minus rating on Memorial Hospital and Health Center, a 131-bed hospital located in the town of Jasper.

Airports may begin seeking more public-private partnership agreements as financing needs mount and more private investors step forward, market participants said at a panel here last week.

DALLAS — Phoenix is preparing to issue $710 million of revenue bonds next week to ­finance a five-mile automated transit system linking Sky Harbor International Airport’s terminal to the city’s new light-rail line as well as parking and rental car facilities.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority hopes to replace a $634 million bond transaction scheduled for September with commercial paper, an agency official said Monday.

DALLAS — Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service expect to assign their lowest investment-grade rating to $404 million of tax-exempt private-activity bonds for a commuter rail line connecting downtown Denver to Denver International Airport.

WASHINGTON — Florence County, S.C., will begin issuing $122.4 million of revenue bonds Monday for several projects at the McLeod Regional Medical Center as the hospital chain has demonstrated credit strength despite a struggling regional economy and the changing health care environment.

Barclays Capital will serve as senior manager on a $1.2 billion New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority deal set to price in August or September.

The New York State Thruway Authority board last week authorized its executive director to negotiate but not execute on his own a new contract with Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP, which has been bond counsel for the agency for all of its 60 years of existence.