Higher education bonds

DALLAS - Utah will turn to the bond market to ease its budget crunch, issuing up to $3.3 billion of debt this year for expansion of Interstate 15 under an agreement between Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and legislative leaders.

Massachusetts could gain roughly $4 billion in up-front payments by privatizing its lottery system and licensing three slot machine parlors, according to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill.

SAN FRANCISCO - Standard & Poor's this week revised the outlook on its A-plus rating for California State University to stable from positive.

DALLAS - The eight states of the Southwest region have already put their $30 billion share of the federal stimulus in motion, launching transportation projects, patching holes in their budgets, and restoring programs that would otherwise go begging.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York gave final approval for $375 million of tax-exempt bonds for Cornell University and preliminary approval for up to $30 million of tax-exempt bonds for a children’s hospital.

WASHINGTON - President Obama's fiscal 2010 budget proposes a five-year, $25 billion national infrastructure bank, a five-year $5 billion high-speed rail state grant program, $4.5 billion for community block development grants, and $3.9 billion for clean and drinking water state revolving funds.

DALLAS - Texas State University could issue $100 million of tuition revenue bonds for new construction on its rapidly developing Round Rock Higher Education Center under legislation introduced this week.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday proposed a $66.5 billion budget for fiscal 2010 that includes $2.5 billion of debt.

WASHINGTON - A panel of South Carolina lawmakers gave preliminary approval Thursday to a $5.6 billion fiscal 2010 budget that would provide almost $1 billion in new spending for education and health care providers while cutting money for local governments by 42%, a move which may halt some capital projects.

The University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh will sell long-term bonds over the next two weeks to refinance variable-rate debt and fund various projects.

The Saint Raphael Obligated Group has defaulted on certain covenants attached to $59.9 million of tax-exempt bonds issued in 2004 on its behalf by the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, according to a material event notice.

The University of South Carolina is expected to sell $28 million of revenue bonds next Wednesday as the system faces state budget cuts.

The University of Minnesota’s plans for a new $275 million children’s hospital received a boost last week with the announcement of a $50 million gift.

CHICAGO - The University of Illinois has pushed off until next month its planned $85 million new-money and refunding bond sale after abandoning plans for a floating-rate transaction in favor of a fixed-rate one as rates have grown more attractive.

WASHINGTON - Growing mark-to-market liabilities for interest rate swaps are posing credit risks that could result in downgrades for some not-for-profit hospitals, higher education institutions, and other nonprofit borrowers, Moody's Investors Service warned in a report issued yesterday.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Municipal bond issuance in the Southeast last year took the largest tumble of any region in the country. Volume fell in all four quarters of 2008 as the credit crunch worsened and - as one financial adviser put it - the rules kept changing.

DALLAS - The abrupt resignation of a University of Texas regent overseeing investments for the state's Permanent University Fund has become an issue in the political battle between Gov. Rick Perry and his presumed 2010 primary challenger, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

DALLAS - The Texas A&M University System on Thursday will offer the largest issue of higher education debt in the state so far this year with $350 million of revenue financing system bonds. But the system will wait to add another $250 million backed by the Permanent University Fund.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Facing a deficit that could run $1 billion or more, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen Monday night told lawmakers he would delay submitting his budget until Congress passes an economic stimulus bill that's projected to bring the state more than $3 billion.

CHICAGO - A flood of refundings by Midwestern issuers looking to shed auction-rate securities and variable-rate bonds backed by downgraded insurers in the second quarter of 2008 couldn't compensate for a steep fourth-quarter drop-off in borrowing amid the economic and market turmoil of last fall.