Economy

BRADENTON, Fla. — Three consortiums representing 15 local, national, and international firms have submitted qualifications to the Georgia Department of Transportation for consideration to develop the state’s first public-private partnership road project.

Miami-Dade County commissioners Tuesday agreed to create an oversight board for the financially ailing Jackson Memorial health care system, which was overseen by an appointed board known as the Public Health Trust.

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell yesterday announced proposals to address a transportation funding shortfall, including a short-term plan in which the state would sell $1 billion of debt during the next two years.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has launched a $775 million grant program to help local and state governments finance capital projects involving buses and bus facilities. The allocations will be announced in September.

If the pending sale of two large nonprofit health care systems to for-profit entities proves a trend, it could be good news for bondholders of low-rated hospital debt, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report out this week.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded its rating on the 2007 debt of the I-470 and 350 Transportation Development District to BBB-plus from A, though the rating is rising to A-minus due to Fitch’s ongoing recalibration of municipal ratings.

Chicago told the Federal Aviation Administration in a quarterly report that it continues to hopes it can resurrect a proposed privatization of Midway Airport.

NEW YORK - The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority Monday approved up to $1.8 billion, in par value, of borrowing for fiscal 2011 to support road, bridge, and public transportation projects.

CHICAGO — A marriage between Chicago-based United Airlines and Houston-based Continental Airlines may have a limited impact on their key airport facilities, as they operate mostly complementary routes, but it could add to the negative pressures posed by industry consolidation, market participants said yesterday.

DALLAS — The North Texas Tollway Authority plans to test the market’s appetite for a $400 million issue of its lowest-rated debt this week.

DALLAS — On the heels of a Fitch Ratings downgrade, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System plans to issue more than $1 billion of revenue bonds this week for operations in three states.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Stephen Goldsmith, a privatization expert, as his deputy mayor for operations.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week approved a revised $26.27 billion, five-year capital program at its monthly board meeting. The plan slashes $1.8 billion from an earlier proposal that Gov. David Paterson rejected last year as unaffordable. It now goes to a state oversight board for consideration.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation this week issued guidance on how state and local governments should apply for $600 million for projects under a competitive discretionary grant program.

States will likely face rising costs due to federal health care reform over the long term, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report released this week.

Smaller airports, transfer hubs, and airports with a large proportion of business from only one or two airlines will be most vulnerable if the remaining U.S. legacy airlines continue to consolidate, Fitch Ratings said in a report issued yesterday.

DALLAS — With its credit rating at the lowest rung of investment grade, Colorado’s E-470 Public Highway Authority has received a negative outlook from Fitch Ratings due to falling toll traffic.

DALLAS — Kansas lawmakers will consider a 10-year, $8.2 billion comprehensive transportation program that authorizes an estimated $1.7 billion of state highway revenue bonds when they reconvene today in Topeka to develop a budget for fiscal 2011.

WASHINGTON — Never before in the U.S. has there been such a push to develop high-speed rail, with Congress and the Obama administration providing funds and new programs that could ultimately get the trains up and running here as they are in other advanced countries.

Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook to stable from negative on health care provider Wheaton Franciscan Services Inc.’s BBB-plus rating due to its improved operating results. The revision affects bonds issued through the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority in 2002, 2003, and 2006.