Far West

Tax reform, particularly corporate tax reform, is likely to be on the agenda in 2015, congressional observers said.

Market participants discuss the outlook for tax regulation in 2015.

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service next year will be working on further guidance on issue price, regulations finalizing other proposed arbitrage rules, and additional rulemaking projects.

Moody's Investors Service has rated Oregon's upcoming issue of $412 million of lottery revenue bonds Aa2. The bonds for capital projects around the state are expected to price Jan. 8.

State and local governments are the underdogs in influence peddling in Congress mostly because they spend little to nothing on lobbyists, in contrast to the millions of dollars spent by the big securities, banking and investment groups.

Hawaii's next finance director, Wesley Machida, says his appointment is a sign that the new governor is serious about lowering the state's unfunded pension liabilities.

Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia formally closed on $600 million of federal loans for Silver Line rail project to Dulles Airport.

Citing a recent debt restructuring, Moody's Investors Service upgraded the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency two notches to Ba2.

Standard & Poor's removed California's Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, operator of Caltrain service between San Jose and San Francisco, from credit watch on Monday citing improved budget operations.

Costs for Oahu's $5.26 billion rail project are on pace to exceed the budget by at least $500 million, according to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.