Thursday, March 13, 2014

That Teetering Town: Moody's Says Chicago Finances Are Better Than Detroit's!

From CBS Chicago:

Moody’s Downgrades Chicago’s Credit Rating, Lowest Of Any Major City Except Detroit
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Chicago’s credit rating, citing the city’s unfunded pension liabilities.

The agency announced Tuesday it’s lowering the rating on $8.3 billion in debt from A3 to Baa1, putting it only three notches above junk-bond status.

Moody’s gave Chicago a negative outlook indicating another downgrade could occur if there’s no pension fix. Moody’s says the rating “reflects the city’s massive and growing unfunded pension liabilities.”

Moody’s says those liabilities “threaten the city’s fiscal solvency” unless major revenue and other budgetary adjustments are adopted soon and are sustained for years to come....