Far West

A ruling that Stockton's pension obligations can be treated the same as other contracts in municipal bankruptcy would have significant impacts on some local government bondholders in California, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has permanently barred a former employee of a broker-dealer and investment advisory firm from the financial markets and ordered him to pay more than $200,000 of restitution to a customer he swindled.

Janney Capital Markets is concerned that Standard & Poor's ratings for some local governments may be too high and out of step with current credit conditions.

Bankruptcy court filings indicates mediation dates have been set for insurers to wrap San Bernardino's bonds to negotiate their fate in the city's Chapter 9 bankruptcy case.

An economic study that stresses the value of investments in transportation is part of a weeklong effort by President Obama to get a long-term highway funding bill.

For the first time since 2007, California ended the fiscal year with a positive cash balance in its general fund, according to State Controller John Chiang.

Ceding to the city, the San Bernardino Police Officer's Association decided not to ask the bankruptcy judge to set a deadline for the city to file a plan of adjustment in a filing Monday.

The California Legislature has adjourned for summer recess this month after failing to reach a compromise on a multi-billion water bond to place on the November ballot.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded the general obligation bond rating on Bainbridge Island, Wash., based on the city's stabilizing tax base and consistent operating surpluses.

The Long Beach Community College District in California is seeking a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service because of a private-activity bond problem with bonds it issued in 2008.