Higher education bonds

DALLAS - The Texas Public Finance Authority will give investors a chance to grab some of its general obligation debt this week as the agency issues $225 million of bonds for refunding and new money.

A bipartisan group of four congressional staffers gave the Department of Education a rhetorical beating Friday over its cumbersome interpretation of a new law meant to help student loan lenders and said that Congress will likely have to act yet again to prevent private lenders that sell federally-guaranteed loans from going out of business.

WASHINGTON - Triple-A rated Maryland on Wednesday will bring $415 million of general obligation bonds to market, with the proceeds going primarily for school construction.

Rutgers University officials last week said the school will maintain the $102 million budget on its stadium expansion project and not increase the $72 million borrowing plan that officials approved in January.

WASHINGTON - Department of Education officials said yesterday that they will take several steps toward easing lender access to emergency liquidity, a move that received applause from nonprofit members of the student loan industry who are still grappling with how to originate loans for the new academic year that began July 1.

ATLANTA - North Carolina lawmakers have approved a roughly $22 billion budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which includes almost $900 million of borrowing.

CHICAGO - The University of Toledo will enter the market today with roughly $35 million of fixed-rate general receipts bonds in the first of two series that will refund recent notes used to take out all the system's insured variable-rate demand bonds.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York got a new executive director yesterday with the appointment by the board of Paul T. Williams Jr., a senior counsel at Nixon Peabody LLP.

CHICAGO - Akron, Ohio, could raise up to $250 million to fund a university scholarship program for the city's public school students by leasing its sewer system under a first-of-its-kind proposal floated by Mayor Donald Plusquellic.

CHICAGO — Strong growth in Evanston, Ill.-based Northwestern University's endowment prompted Standard & Poor's to move the credit up into the elite ranks of higher education institutions as it prepares to sell $125 million of new money tomorrow.

CHICAGO The Illinois Finance Authority this week advanced borrowing plans for a handful of nonprofits including $125 million for Northwestern University, which is undertaking nearly $1 billion in campus improvements, and $180 million for Advocate Health Care Network to finance its acquisition of Condell Health Network.

SAN FRANCISCO -Fitch Ratings upgraded Oregon's general obligation rating to AA from AA-minus yesterday as the state prepares to bring $200 million of bonds to market for a new basketball arena at the University of Oregon.

DALLAS -Rice University in Houston is coming to market today with a two-tranche issue worth $200 million to fund continued construction of a new research center and two student residences and take out some commercial paper.