Law and legal issues

The debt would help finance a project to divert Red River floods away from Fargo, N.D. and Morehead, Minn.

Sean Carney, director and head of municipal strategy at BlackRock, talks about municipal issuance in the first half of 2017 and makes some predictions on how the second half of the year will look. He also discusses distressed states — which state could recover first and why and how a downgrade of Illinois would be a big deal for the market. Hosted by Aaron Weitzman in a conversation recorded on June 29.

Two CDDs argue their bond plans comply with state law despite a challenge by residents.

The tax revenue could also be used to make up shortfalls in pension or bond payments.

A group of hedge funds that owns $3.3 billion of Puerto Rico bonds disclosed in court documents the amount that each of them holds.

The county’s 25-year, $339 million refunding sold with an all-in, true-interest cost of 3.38%.

As the crisis in Puerto Rico continues to drag on, Paul Kwiatkowski, managing director at Kroll Bond Rating Agency discusses the differences between municipal and corporate creditors in bankruptcies and how we can look back at Detroit for clues on how things might turn out. Hosted by Aaron Weitzman.

The project, linking the island's west side to past downtown Honolulu on the island's leeward side, was once expected to be completed in 2019.

A collaborative effort is needed to keep Hartford out of bankruptcy, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said.

While working on two bond sales and finalizing a new budget, Cook County, Ill. is eyeing layoffs.

The city council wants more time to decide on Flint's long term water plan.

The county plans to price $344 million of limited obligation refunding warrants, with a new 1% local sales tax supporting debt service.

Junk status underscores the need for a 'far-sighted restructuring,' according to Luke Bronin.

Lawsuit seeks to force a vote on the $34.5 million public funding portion of the Pistons deal.

Hartford, Conn., on the brink of insolvency, hired Greenberg Traurig LLP as restructuring counsel.

The Hawaii Supreme Court will hear arguments that the state is taking too much of Oahu's rail transit tax.

A series of high-profile cases may endanger California’s “vested rights” doctrine.

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bonds were slashed to D Thursday by Fitch Ratings in the wake of the utility’s bankruptcy filing.

An appeals court ruling favored a Mississippi county in its dispute with Assured Guaranty.

The five year municipal default rate since 2007 is twice the average since 1970, though it's still a fraction of the default rate on corporate bonds.