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Consumer credit increased by $20.1 billion in August to $3.935 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hawaii's dramatic spring has brought torrential rains, mudslides, volcanic eruptions and lava flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Texas city's "Trinity River Vision" requires voter approval of $250 million of flood-control bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conning is holding firm to its declining outlook on states' credit quality, though S&P sees some rays of sunshine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A court ruling offers some financial relief to the distressed gambling hub, according to Moody's Investors Service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the St. Louis Art Museum's (MO) (SLAM) Issuer Rating to Aa2, reflecting excellent fiscal management contributing to superior cash flow and reserve growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fewer consumers sought credit, and the number of those too discouraged to even apply grew, according to the quarterly Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) Credit Access Survey, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Monday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the approval of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York to issue a 400 million dollar revenue bonds to provide floating-rate notes. According to Patrick McCoy, MTA finance director, the floaters will enable the company to render the lowest potential costs of borrowing. It states that the financial advisor of MTA is Lamont Financial Services Corp. and its bond counsel is Nixon Peabody LLP.

The article reports on the plan of the Legislature to implement its first intercept program to furnish credit enhancement for municipal bonds in Florida. It is an initiative of the Florida League of Cities (FLC) to augment small or low-rated credits of cities and counties. According to Craig Hunter, public finance director of FLC, it is done in response to the difficulties brought by voter-imposed limits on taxes, housing crisis, and revenue decline.

Conning lowered its outlook on the municipal credit of U.S. states this week to declining from stable as state tax revenue growth turned negative in the first extended decline since the Great Recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is seeking 400 million dollars rise to its short term borrowing capacity. CPS is in negotiation with lenders on establishing new lines that are expiring. CPS' cash flow remains lean and officials said the increase from 1.065 billion dollars is needed as its annual debt service deposit due February, 2017.

Consumer credit increased by $18.6 billion in May to $3.624 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a prolonged slump in energy markets, Texas retains gilt-edged ratings that are expected to draw investors to $188.7 million of general obligation refunding bonds this week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about the Indiana Finance Authority's 250 million U.S. dollar 2014 private activity bond issue for its I-69 Section 5 project which was downgraded to a BBB-minus rating by ratings agency Fitch Ratings. Topics include the factors of deteriorating credit quality of Isolux Corsan SA (Isolux), the parent company of the project's construction contractor Corsan-Corviam Construccion SA and an 8 month project delay, and Fitch's decision to place the bonds on rating watch negative.

The article reports on the April 5, 2016 bond-related ballot measures in Missouri and the resulting mixed credit results according to financial services provider Moody's Investors Service. Topics include the renewal of the 1% earnings tax in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri which offers a positive credit momentum, the rejection of a property tax hike by voters in Ferguson, Missouri, and the approval of a one-fourth cent economic development sales tax for Ferguson city, Missouri.

The termination of a Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority restructuring agreement Friday night raised the risk of creditor suits and blackouts, participants said. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the city of Vallejo in California has asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to reject labor contracts. The city will cap interest payments on its outstanding municipal debt and continued to negotiate with the Union Bank of California, the letter-of-credit provider on most of its $53 million general fund backed certificates of participation. It wills limit its debt service payments to an amount not higher than 6% per year.

The article reports that the Commissioners of Jefferson County in Alabama approved a new 60-day forbearance agreement negotiated with insurers, swap counterparties and banks. They continue to find ways to restructure the $3.2 billion of sewer debt. They agreed to pay $11 million on the $53 million payment due on April 1, 2008. The commissioners will apply excess sales tax revenues to repay the debt, but they declined to impose fees on people who are not connected to the county sewer system.

The article announces the creation of MCDX index by Markit Group to track the market for municipal credit protection in the U.S. The index is designed to track the growing municipal credit default swap (CDS) market used by investors to bet on the creditworthiness of municipal issuers. It notes that CDS have been present in the municipal market before 2004, and used to supplement the insurance provided by one of the insurers of municipal bonds.

The article reports that the California state treasurer Bill Lockyer is considering a proposal to bring together the state's largest pension funds to form a monoline bond insurer. It is stated that the plan is to address the municipal rating scale and the current system of credit enhancement. Lockyer has questioned the rating levels of the state on full faith and credit general obligation debt.

The article reports that the unwanted secondary effect from the credit crunch in the U.S. has made its way across the Atlantic Ocean, and is affecting the financial resources of eight small Norwegian communities. In details, Narvik community has incurred enough losses through the investment that it planned to borrow money to pay municipal employees their December 2007 wages.

The article reports on the importance of credit default swaps (CDS) among guarantors of bond insurance companies. It is stated that guarantors have argued to get favorable terms in the CDS. Bond insurance companies say that their credit swap agreement will help the guarantors keep triple-A credit ratings. Further, bond insurers are expected to mark the value of their CDS contracts.

The article reports on the growth of the municipal credit default swap (CDS) market in the U.S. The increase goes with the credit risk reassessment occurring in the market because of the subprime mortgage default crisis. According to market participants, more investors are turning to CDS on municipalities to supplement credits which are already insured by a monoline insurance company. Peter DeGroot of Lehman Brothers reported that municipal CDS proved itself as a popular investment vehicle.

Atlantic City, N.J employees in five departments could be facing layoffs by the end of the year as the city grapples with a continued credit crisis, according to a letter sent Tuesday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chart is presented which compares the October 12, 2015 and the October 19, 2015 visible credit supply of the U.S. southwestern states.

Worsening investment performance threatens the long-term viability of the Dallas Police and Fire pension fund and could harm the city's credit, according to Moody's Investors Service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder declared Wayne County, home of Detroit, to be in a financial emergency, just one day after a state review team made the recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chicago is making headway on gaining relief from $60 million in swap termination payments owed to banks after Moody's Investors Service downgraded its general obligation credit last week, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illinois-Based Rush University Medical Center hits the market Thursday with its first time issue in more than five years accompanied by a trifecta of good credit news on the $500 million refunding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Treasury estimated its fourth quarter borrowing needs at $232 billion, assuming a $200 billion cash balance at quarter's end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the Standard & Poor's (S&P) Financial Services LLC, an American financial services company, report related to the growing credit risks of Philadelphia district's, Pennsylvania, charter schools. According to Sharon Gigante, credit analyst at S&P, Financial pressure at the Philadelphia School District is spreading to the city's charter schools.

The article focuses on the tax-exempt market in the U.S. which continued to be losses due to steady yields. It highlights that though the municipal bond market remains steady but the treasuries are continued to strengthen. It also states that the credit quality parameter should be maintained high due to recent announcements of bankruptcies or bankruptcy filings.

The article reports that the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB's) proposal on public pension accounting and reporting standards will not immediately affect credit. It discusses the GASB's preliminary views on public pension standards which include the prohibition of multiyear smoothing of pension-fund asset valuations by the accounting standards-setter. It also states that the accounting standard-setter is expected to issue a follow-up proposal for the GASB's pension standards.

A calendar of events from October 2010 to May 2011 in the U.S. is presented which includes the 2010 Legal and Legislative Issues Conference, the 11th Annual Transportation Finance/P3 Conference and the Gulf State Credit and Challenges Conference.

The article reports on the borrowing plan of Arizona with no short-term credit options in 2010.

The article reports on the move of Moody's Investors Services Inc. to revise the outlook of the A3 credit of Loyola University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. It notes that the A3 credit has been revised from negative to stable due to its string operating performance. It adds that the university's cash flow has also been operating improvement initiatives that has undertaken by its health system.

The article reports on the claim of Donald L. Kohn, vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, that restraints on credit will keep low for an extended period. It notes that although the economic conditions have obviously begun to improve, the utilization of resources will be restricted. Moreover, Kohn also stresses that removal of other forms of accommodation will be done if needed.

A summary is presented of the Close the SILO/LILO Loophole Act of 2009, introduced by Representative John Lewis and Senator Robert Menendez in the U.S.

The article reports on the issue concerning the flow of credit in the U.S. According to Federal Reserve Board (Fed) vice chairman Donald L. Kohn, policymakers are uncertain whether actions will be sufficient to restart the flow of credit since there is no reliable precedents for the existing situation, adding that flexibility will be key going forward. He says that Fed has to remain very flexible and open to policy actions that had no precedent.

The article reports on the economic performance of West Virginia for 2008. According to Standard & Poor's Corp., the state's economy remains healthy despite the downturn in the national economy due to its solid financial management, demonstrated willingness and ability to tackle large-scale financial challenges, and moderate debt burden. Analyst John Sugden states that the state's credit improvement will depend on the substantial deepening and diversification of its economic base.

The article reports on the plan of the Californian government to use credit enhancement to sell $2 billion of Rans on November 17, 2008. The note sale was upsized to $5 billion after the state drew retail buyers by dropping the lure of yield, pricing the notes to yield 3.75% for the series maturing May 20, 2008. State treasurer's office spokesman Tom Dresslar believes that retail demand remains high, and hopes that the enhanced security will increase demand among institutional investors.

The article reports on the study which indicates that the aging infrastructure, rapidly growing pension obligations and weakening tax revenues are putting a strain on the credit quality of local governments in the U.S. The study was conducted by McDonnell Investment Management LLC. It revealed that the median average in average age for plant and capital equipment in the cities has increased by about 10% over the same period.

The article focuses on the significance of transparency in aiding the U.S. mortgage market. Federal Reserve Board Governor Randall S. Kroszner notes that more transparency and less complexity will help promote mortgage market recovery and broader credit risk scrutiny. According to Kroszner, investors with more and better information from originators and sponsors of credit products will be able to more easily conduct proper, due diligence and verify evaluations of credit risk.

The article reports that ACA Capital Holdings Inc. secured its fifth straight forbearance agreement and negotiated with its counterparties in derivative contracts to put off delinquency proceedings until June 20. The agreement required ACA to post collateral if it fell below a rating threshold and it publicly disclosed between $18 billion and $19 billion in exposure to collateralized debt obligations. It has removed most of its Website from the Internet in favor of having only a homepage.

The article reports on the move of Portland, Oregon to shelve plans to refinance $150 million of auction-rate securities. It relates that the decision came following four months of failed auctions that resulted to lower rates than it could get to refinance the ARS at a fixed rate. Debt manager Eric H. Johansen says that the city is willing to refinance the ARS at some point, however, not at any rate as city officials remain comfortable with the city having variable-rate debt.

The article focuses on the venture and initiative of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in developing a modern and effective borrowing strategy and issuing debt to enhance the pension funds and finance capital projects in Illinois. In fact, Gov. Blogojevich proposes a $58 billion budget for 2009 including a $1.2 billion for tobacco bond issue, the sale of $16 billion of pension bonds and $3.8 billion for debt funds to finance capital projects. The state is expected to improve its financial performance.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including on the condition of the real estate business, growing home foreclosures and the changes of the state finance landscape and another on fundamental changes in credit practices in U.S. states.

The article reports on the plan of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency to seek qualifications from law firms to update its panel of authorized bond counsel. Senior Vice President of MassDevelopment Steve Chilton disclosed that the agency intends to keep the panel at a manageable level and to provide it with flexibility for its works throughout the state. The request will include details on the firm's experience with working on bond sales, credit enhancements and multi-modal bonds.

The article reports that Fitch Ratings Ltd. has raised the credit rating of HealthEast Inc. from BB-plus to BBB-minus, restoring the credit to investment-grade level in Minnesota. The rating agency also affirms the stable rating of HealthEast, incorporates no significant increase in the system's debt load. Fitch has attributed the upgrade to HealthEast's consistent operating performance, leading market position in a stable market with favorable economic trends.

A calendar of credit events in the U.S. for September 2007 is presented including existing home sales, initial jobless claims, and new home sales.