Public finance

CALIFORNIA

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., on Thursday said she expects the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will be able to vote on a six-year transportation bill next month.

For yet another year, uncertainty surrounding the potential loss or cap of the municipal tax exemption concerned panelists at the National Municipal Bond Summit.

Detroit amended its interest-rate swaps deal to drop banks' requirement that it sign off on its plan of debt adjustment, and also said it would file an updated bankruptcy plan on Monday.

Continuing a recent pattern, $195 million trickled out of tax-exempt money market funds as total net assetsdipped to $270.29 billion in the week ended March 24, according to The MoneyFund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

CALIFORNIA

ALASKA

Detroit's proposed $120 million loan with Barclays, which would finance service improvements, advanced Tuesday after a key Michigan board approved the deal.

Grassroots pressure is building on Congress to pass a transportation funding bill this summer and prevent a halt in construction projects as the Highway Trust Fund approaches insolvency.

GEORGIA

IOWA

Standard & Poor's Tuesday downgraded Detroit's already junk-rated $5.9 billion of water and sewer bonds warning of a default even as the city turns to the private sector to take over the asset.

Municipal bonds are a better option than P3s for water utilities, an environmental advocate told a special House P3 panel Tuesday.

Municipal strategists are recommending non-traditional ways to manage the risk of rising interest rates after a surge in the price of short term bonds.

The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy case ordered the city to disclose more details of a proposed $120 million loan with Barclays, including financing terms and the use of proceeds.

ALABAMA

IOWA

Maryland can proceed with the selection of a private partner to design, build, and operate the $2.4 billion Purple Line commuter rail project via a public-private partnership after federal approval last week of the environmental impact statement.

Expectations for rising interest rates, continued low supply, and credit spread tightening are prompting municipal portfolio managers preparing for the second quarter to tweak the duration and credit quality of their tax-exempt holdings, while keeping a wary eye on the economy.

The Detroit Water and Sewer Department plans to come to market in June with $150 million of sewer bonds — and possibly a restructuring of its entire $4 billion portfolio — in the midst of the city's tumultuous bankruptcy and talks to privatize the asset.