Far West

The Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority is planning to sell $43 million of general obligation bonds in a competitive offering in June.

The state of Alaska had its first budget deficit this year after years of large surpluses, but its credit strength still remains very strong, according to a report from Standard & Poor’s.

Moody's Investors Service has downgrade Hastings College of the Law to A2 from A1.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a $8.1 billion budget that ramps reserves up to roughly 7% of the budget and restores few services.

A panel that advises the Internal Revenue Service will present reports next month, including one from the committee's tax-exempt bonds team on the treatment of management contracts.

If Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal gets through the state legislature, California will be on track to continue its fiscal recovery, market experts say.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is anticipating strong demand and tight spreads when it prices $322 million in power revenue bonds on May 28-29.

The California drought will have negative impacts on agriculturally-dependent areas, but will not impact the credit quality of the state and local governments, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Federal, state and local elected officials joined LA Metro in announcing the receipt of a $1.25 billion full funding grant agreement from the Federal Transit Administration for its Purple Line subway extension.

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association president and chief executive officer Kenneth Bentsen criticized recent efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission to further regulate the muni market, telling issuer officials on Tuesday that a new rule and initiative could undermine productive relationships between municipalities and underwriters.