Investments

Cash-strapped Louisiana faces huge expenses as a result of the three days of torrential rains that flooded the southern part of the state, state budget chief Jay Dardenne told a legislative panel Thursday.

A California state appeals court ruling may open the window for governments to change the future benefits of existing employees.

State gasoline tax collections climb as more Americans hit the road, giving states additional borrowing capacity.

The federal Bureau of Prisons' phase out of private prisons has only a small effect on the municipal bond-financed private lockup sector, leaving bond-financed immigration detention centers untouched.

Disappointing public pension investment fund returns released recently by Maryland and Virginia may be representative of a more nationwide trend, pension experts warned.

CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, decreased four basis points to 3.76% from 3.80% in the previous week.

Issuers say they have recently been delivering deals with 4%-or-less coupons to meet growing demand for cost-efficiency in the low yield climate.

Michigan's Wayne State University expects to return to the bond market to raise up to $14 million for the new business school for which it broke ground last month.

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie opens the general fund to restart transportation project stalled over fight with lawmakers.

Eight years after the housing market collapse, the senior housing sector is growing with the help of near record-low interest rates that have prompted a rush to market.

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

Lawsuits by two Florida counties challenging the $1.75 billion private activity bond award for the All Aboard Florida passenger train project can proceed, after a federal judge ruled in the counties' favor.

A big increase in New Jersey's gasoline tax would restart work on $3.5 billion of stalled road projects, Gov. Chris Christie said.

Bard College in New York's Dutchess County was moved further into junk territory Wednesday after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the school's revenue bonds one notch to B1 with a negative outlook citing increased debt levels.

Bondholders' poor recovery relative to pensioners in Detroit was typical of municipal bankruptcies, as protecting the workforce has outweighed debt repayment in courtrooms across the nation.

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA