Far West

In a response to an audit from the state controller's office, Stockton, Calif. officials said it did not provide any new information and instead slows down the city's recovery.

Fitch Ratings upgraded the state of California's general obligation bonds to A from A-minus citing improved financial management and revenue.

In an audit of Stockton's finances, California Controller John Chiang says city officials should have seen the warning signs of trouble that sent Stockton into bankruptcy.

The San Bernardino Public Employees Association could withdraw its opposition to the city's eligibility to be in bankruptcy if the two parties reach an agreement on the union's contract.

Richmond, Calif.'s plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure will not likely be successfully implemented, according to Moody's Investors Service, but it's still credit negative for residential mortgage backed securities.

In an action that could affect numerous transactions across the country, the Internal Revenue Service has determined that revenue bonds issued by a New Jersey authority for the Deborah Heart and Lung Center are taxable because the borrower entered into a total return swap.

The Regents of the University of California is planning to sell $665 million of fixed and variable rate medical center pooled revenue bonds.

Tax law changes allowing the tax credits of tax-credit bonds to be stripped and sold separately to investors have increased the risk for improper or fraudulent tax credit claims, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a June 26 report.

The Senate confirmed Michael Piwowar and Kara Stein as members of the Securities and Exchange Commission by unanimous consent Thursday evening.

Moody's Investors Service has revised its outlook for the District of Columbia's approximately $2.2 billion of outstanding general obligation bonds to stable from negative, and the ratings agency affirmed the bonds' Aa2 rating.