Economy

Moody’s Investors Service last week upgraded to Aa3 from A1 debt issued on behalf of McLaren Health Care Corp., and revised the outlook to stable from positive.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded to A from A-plus roughly $1.24 billion of debt issued on behalf of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.

CHICAGO — Redwood Capital Investments LLC’s successful bid Wednesday to acquire most of bankrupt Erickson Retirement Communities’ assets did not include the Monarch Landing, Sedgebrook, and Linden Ponds facilities so the fate of their municipal debt now becomes the focus of a new round of negotiations.

CHICAGO — Redwood Capital Investments LLC’s successful bid Wednesday to acquire most of bankrupt Erickson Retirement Communities’ assets did not include the Monarch Landing, Sedgebrook, and Linden Ponds facilities so the fate of their municipal debt now becomes the focus of a new round of negotiations.

New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie will take office next month, and along with confronting high property taxes, a heavy debt burden, and the issue of encouraging shared services at the local level, the new administration will face a transportation funding spigot set to dry up by mid-2011.

The Skokie, Ill.-based health care advisory firm Kaufman Hall & Associates Inc. will close out a busy 2009 with two new partners after promoting its head of the mergers and acquisitions group, Kit Kamholz, to the senior status and earlier this year hiring former banker James Blake.

Standard & Poor's revised Newport Hospital's outlook to negative from stable last week, citing an unexpected increase in operating losses. The change affects $24.9 million of bonds issued in 1999 by the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp. on behalf of the hospital. Standard & Poor's rates the debt A.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority's revenue bonds and dedicated tax-fund bonds to negative from stable last week.

New York Gov. David Paterson doesn't want to cut capital spending, but delaying projects may be inevitable, he said in an exclusive interview with The Bond Buyer.

Chicago's $8 billion expansion of O'Hare International Airport won a major court victory late last week that paves the way for its acquisition and relocation of a cemetery now in the path of a planned runway.

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston will open the new year by retiring $78 million of auction-rate securities almost two years after the market for that type of debt collapsed.

After staying out of a multi-state refinancing in March, the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority will refund early next year up to $150 million of Catholic Health East debt after the health care provider and the authority reached agreement on collateral postings for derivatives.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced late last week the sale of $100 million of grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds for the Ohio River Bridge Project.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe last week shot down a proposal to shift a portion of sales tax revenues to highway projects before a transportation financing committee had a chance to suggest the move.

New Jersey will take on $157.4 million of moral obligation debt this week as the South Jersey Port Corp. will issue the marine terminal revenue bonds with the expectation that state allocations to meet the corporation's debt service costs will continue.

Moody's Investors Service last week revised the outlook of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to negative from stable and affirmed its A2 rating.

Voters in Riverside County, Calif., last week approved a proposal from the bankrupt Valley Health System to sell the public district's two hospitals and its other real estate assets to a for-profit group of local physicians.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not violate New York laws when it agreed to sell the development rights over rail yards in Brooklyn to Forest City Ratner Cos., a state Supreme Court judge ruled last week.

New Jersey lawmakers are working to expand the abilities of the Capital City Redevelopment Corp., including the power to issue bonds and notes.

The Regional Transportation Authority early next month will issue $179 million of general obligation bonds under its deal with Illinois aimed at freeing up capital funds to help close a fiscal 2010 budget gap at the Chicago Transit Authority without a fare hike.