Far West

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday raided the offices of Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, according to local reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking market participants to help it craft a definition of retail money market funds as part of a set of reforms that it proposed Wednesday.

Los Angeles and Riverside counties are working on programs designed to help redevelopment successor agencies handle refundings to capture interest-rate savings on bonds issued by the dissolved RDAs.

Saying she wants to "light a fire" under attorneys in the case, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury scheduled a summary judgment hearing on San Bernardino, Calif.'s eligibility for bankruptcy.

Moody's Investors Service said in a report Wednesday that it has withdrawn ratings on $1.2 billion of debt issued by 22 former California redevelopment agencies due to a lack of information.

In a precedent-setting decision that could have major ramifications for issuers, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled a Florida Community Development District is not a political subdivision that can issue tax-exempt bonds.

Critical funding measures on the ballot in the struggling California cities of Fresno and Hercules hung in the balance Tuesday before voters – one appears to have passed, another's fate is too close to call.

Securities and Exchange Commission members on Wednesday unanimously agreed to propose reforms for money market funds, which muni market participants greeted with mixed reaction.

Panelists at a conference here on Monday warned issuer officials to be wary of dealer contracts that might violate municipal securities rules and to make sure they are using properly registered municipal advisors.

California Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who oversees some of the largest muncipal bond sales in the country, said he will retire from elected office at the end of his term in 2015.