Higher education bonds

The Iowa Board of Regents have approved $30 million of borrowing for the University of Iowa for cash-flow purposes related to $232 million of repair costs from the devastating floods that swept through the region last spring.

The Jan. 7 article by Michelle Kaske alleges that "questions continue" over the billing and financial practices at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She refers to an October article in which the Newark Star-Ledger reported that UMDNJ "continued to overbill even during a two-year period when there was a federal monitor observing the school."

DALLAS - Utah lawmakers are considering cutting education funding in an effort to trim state spending by 7.5% in the current fiscal year and twice that much in the next budget.

DALLAS - Seeing what may be a brief window of opportunity, issuers and their finance teams were scrambling yesterday to bring some long-stalled deals to the muni market this week.

CHICAGO - Confident the market has begun to recover from last year's turmoil, two major Ohio issuers plan to enter the market today with a pair of long-delayed bond issues.

DALLAS - Texas lawmakers gavel in the 2009 session today with a weakening economy, a backlog of transportation funding needs, and 10% less revenue available than in the previous biennium.

DALLAS — Cities, school districts, universities, and other issuers in Texas hope to begin clearing a backlog of bonds this week as demand for munis appears to be strengthening.

DALLAS - Stephen F. Austin State University will issue $23 million of revenue bonds next week to build a nursing school and expand other buildings on its Nacogdoches, Tex., campus.

As the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey gears up for a long-awaited refinancing, questions continue over its billing and financial practices.

WASHINGTON - The Virginia College Building Authority will bring $309 million of revenue bonds to market in a negotiated transaction today to finance about 30 construction projects at nine colleges and universities ranging from sports facilities to parking decks.

Standard & Poor’s last week downgraded Illinois Wesleyan University’s underlying rating to BBB-plus from A-minus due to the school’s ongoing operating deficits.

DALLAS - On the heels of a Fitch Ratings downgrade, the University of Oklahoma will issue $65.8 million of revenue bonds after the first of the year for construction and renovation of buildings on the flagship Norman campus.

CHICAGO - Loyola University of Chicago has stepped up to help its ailing health system with an infusion of $19 million in cash, a move that staved off the system's violation of bank liquidity terms and the loss of its investment grade credit.

CHICAGO - Fitch Ratings last week rated the Urbana, Ill.-based Carle Foundation's upcoming $250 million bond sale AA-minus and assigned an "evolving" outlook due to the uncertain outcome and the fiscal impact of its merger discussions with an affiliated physicians' group.

The Empire State Development Corp. gave final approval to a controversial plan to expand Columbia University's campus in Manhattan at its monthly board meeting yesterday. The plan is almost certain to wind up in the courts as property owners in the area fight the use of eminent domain.

DALLAS - The Louisiana State Bond Commission gave its tentative approval on Thursday to $210 million of revenue bonds to finance the state's student loan program, even though there is little chance the bonds can be issued until market conditions improve.

New York State should consider privatizing assets and using design-build strategies to fill funding gaps for capital projects, a state commission said in a preliminary report yesterday. The report identifies transportation and education projects as candidates for public-private partnerships.

DALLAS - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating a 2002 bond sale by the University of New Mexico as part of an investigation into possible violations of securities laws, officials said.

Yeshiva University's tax-exempt bonds have been hammered this week as the private, nonprofit university acknowledged potential losses in an investment scheme and a shrinking endowment.

The Arkansas Student Loan Authority will have until the end of September 2010 to repay the State Board of Finance for its draw on an $80 million line of credit after the agency was unable to issue bonds for its student loan program.