Investments

A bill pending in the Maryland Senate would require the state transportation authority to begin exploring the possibility of a bond-financed bridge across the Chesapeake Bay.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority achieved about $1 billion in present-value savings from its 2012 refundings, according to officials.

Ray LaHood, a big supporter of high-speed rail and the Dulles Silver Line project, plans to step down as Transportation Secretary after a successor is nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

ILLINOIS

ARKANSAS

In his more than 25 years on the municipal bond desk at Merrill Lynch and BlackRock, Peter Hayes has had front-row seats to some of the biggest changes in asset management, and in particular, how they've affected the municipal bond industry. He brings those to bear in his analysis for 2013.

Legislation has been introduced in California to curtail the use of some capital appreciation bonds sold by school and community college districts.

CALIFORNIA

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the College of New Rochelle's bonds to Ba1 from Baa3.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency may make little headway into breaking up the "big three," but it may trigger changes in operations by Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, according to a municipal analyst.

Standard & Poor's raised its long-term rating and underlying rating on the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency's bonds issued for Clark University to A-plus from A.

Table as of: 01/24/2013 10:35 AM Invisible Supply Issuer and purpose Amount

ILLINOIS

ALABAMA

The Bond Buyer weekly yield indexes were narrowly mixed the week ended Jan. 24.

Inflows to municipal bond mutual funds, while still robust, have fallen for a second straight week, to $871 million from funds that report their flows weekly.

A plan released by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority details $6 billion of investment the nation's second-busiest subway system needs to make over the next 12 years, and stresses the need for new revenue to support it.

University of California President Mark Yudof has said he will step down as head of the 10-campus system at the end of August.

The University of Texas System will seek authorization for $1.1 billion of state tuition bonds for 16 projects at 15 campuses from the Texas Legislature.

After downgrading Assured Guaranty, Moody's Investors Service has taken action on the short-term and long-term ratings of 78 variable rate demand bonds.