By Joe Mysak

A South Carolina toll road’s Chapter 9 filing last week is just the third municipal bankruptcy this year, suggesting that states and municipalities may be emerging from the recession.

Bankruptcies and bond defaults both declined in the first half of 2010, as state and local governments raise taxes and fees and cut spending to patch holes in their budgets.

To date, 30 municipal issuers have defaulted on $1.5 billion in bonds, according to Richard Lehmann of the Distressed Debt Securities newsletter of Miami Lakes, Florida. In the first half of 2009, 138 issuers defaulted on $4.5 billion in bonds. That’s a decline of 80 percent, in terms of numbers of issues.

Continue reading Bankruptcies Show States Recovering From Recession:JoeMysak

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