Detroit and one of its last hold-out creditors, Syncora Guarantee Inc., have reached an agreement in principle over the city's plan to adjust its debt and exit bankruptcy, Reuters reported today. The city and the bond insurance company asked the bankruptcy court to suspend an ongoing confirmation hearing on the plan until Friday so they can "address certain conditions and logistics." In a separate filing yesterday, Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes said that he would hear the motion to delay this morning. Syncora, which insured some of the city's $1.4 billion of pension debt and related interest-rate swaps, emerged as Detroit's fiercest opponent in the biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy the city filed in July 2013. The company and its legal team are "hopeful the deal will be finalized in the next 48 hours," said James H.M. Sprayregen, an attorney from Kirkland & Ellis who represents Syncora.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/10/usa-detroit-bankruptcy-syncor…
In related news, Detroit and its suburbs agreed to create a regional water authority to serve two-fifths of Michigan residents as part of a deal that will make it easier to end the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. “There has been 40 years of conflict between city and suburbs over water,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said yesterday. Three suburban counties have been fighting the city’s proposal to extract tens of millions of dollars from its water department, claiming it would trigger rate increases and prevent needed repairs. The deal ends the counties’ opposition to the city’s bankruptcy-exit plan, Duggan said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-09-09/detroit-new-water-agency…