Far West

Moody's Investors Service said triple-A rated Alaska appears in good shape to overhaul its tax on oil production.

Stockton City Manager Bob Deis will retire Nov. 1 after three years on the job that included guiding the city into bankruptcy, officials announced Wednesday.

The process of adopting California's budget is no longer a drama that holds much interest for the municipal bond market as the state's fiscal house becomes sturdier after years of dilapidation.

Stockton, Calif., officials said the city reached an agreement on health benefit claims with retirees in its bankruptcy case.

Higher revenue collections have boosted the short-term outlook for states but the slow economic recovery and stubbornly high unemployment have many states worried that the fiscal improvements may be temporary.

Moody's Investors Service placed Antelope Valley Healthcare District's Baa3-rated bonds on review for downgrade following the unexpected resignations of the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is urging investors and dealers to examine the redemption provisions of Build America Bonds and other direct-pay bonds so they can determine if the bonds' market value could be affected by a redemption stemming from a sequestration-mandated cut in subsidy payments to the issuer.

Dealers generally like the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed rules governing sophisticated municipal market professionals, which need less protection than retail investors, but are seeking some clarifications and suggesting the rules expanded to cover small hedge funds.

The House Ways and Means Committee chairman began meeting one-on-one last week with individual committee members to get feedback on the next steps for comprehensive tax reform, but admitted there is a significant amount of work to still before passing legislation this year.

Broker-dealers charged billions of dollars in excessive markups on municipal bond trades from 2005 to 2013, according to a new study.