Rich Saskal

Appearing before the California Assembly Budget Committee, Treasurer Bill Lockyer this week restated warnings he has issued about the state's rising debt-service costs.

California has named global real estate services company CB Richard Ellis to market the 11 state office buildings it plans to sell to investors.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has chosen to replace California's outgoing finance director Michael Genest with one of his chief deputies, Ana Matosantos. The ­governor made the appointment Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Moody’s Investors Service issued a three-notch downgrade to the credit enhancement programs of both the California Public Employees Retirement System and California State Teachers Retirement System.

SAN FRANCISCO — A special ­election Tuesday may hasten the end of Valley Health System’s two-year-old Chapter 9 bankruptcy case and lead to the ­redemption of the Southern California public hospital district’s outstanding tax-exempt bonds.

SAN FRANCISCO — California education officials are planning to seek legislation to address legal concerns over the way the state divvied up its allocation for the qualified school construction bond program.

SAN FRANCISCO — The recession has had a lighter touch in Montana than in most states, but its affects are beginning to eat into the state budget, according to a report the Legislature’s fiscal analyst delivered last week.

California’s Department of Water Resources Tuesday announced that it had allocated only 5% of the water that State Water Project contractors had requested for 2010.

The recession has taken another bite out of California property tax revenue.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed Barbara Macri-Ortiz to the board of the California Housing Finance Agency, and reappointed Michael Gunning.

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s gaping budget gap is likely to lead to a legislative impasse that could easily shut the state government down next summer, Treasurer Bill Lockyer said this week.

SAN FRANCISCO – Citing a weak economy, diminished reserves, and the possibility of sizable future budget deficits, Fitch Ratings Tuesday afternoon downgraded Los Angeles general obligation bonds to AA-minus from AA. The city’s outlook remains negative.

SAN FRANCISCO — The California State Public Works Board abruptly removed more than half a billion dollars from last week’s lease-revenue bond sale after two state lawmakers issued a last-minute letter warning of legal challenges to a project that was slated to receive bond funding.

SAN FRANCISCO — Even as the market for qualified school construction bonds is taking off, many California school districts appear to be stuck on the sideline because of questions over the way the state allocated QSCB authority to the districts.

SAN FRANCISCO — Washington’s official economic forecaster sliced $760 million from the state’s revenue outlook yesterday, citing a “revenue-less recovery.”

Seattle’s mayor-elect, Mike McGinn, will have a victory party today after his narrow election triumph.

Declining property values were a key factor in a two-notch downgrade Moody’s Investors Service dealt Tuesday to the Ripon Redevelopment Agency.

Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge was elected president of the National League of Cities Saturday.

SAN FRANCISCO — ­California is facing a $6.3 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, as well as a $14.4 billion gap in the next one, according to a report the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office released yesterday.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has joined the ranks of public agencies filing civil lawsuits alleging a bid-rigging conspiracy in the municipal derivatives market.