Far West

Moody's Investors Service downgraded to A2 from Aa2 the rating on $145.9 million in certificates of participation issued by Antelope Valley, Calif.-East Kern Water Agency.

Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service both gave a double-A ratings to a $75.4 million planned March 18 sale by the California State Public Works board for University of California Santa Barbara.

Stockton, Calif., which is battling with creditors over its attempt to enter Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, received $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to buy two new fire engines.

San Bernardino, Calif., is the latest city to receive a letter from the state government demanding it hand over redevelopment funds but threatens to fight back in bankruptcy court.

House Republicans unveiled their fiscal 2014 budget Tuesday that would overhaul the tax code without raising new revenue, slash federally-funded high-speed rail, repeal President Obama's healthcare law, and cut domestic programs.

Mary Jo White, President Obama's nominee for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told lawmakers Tuesday that her work representing high-profile clients as a criminal defense attorney will not create undue conflicts of interest or affect her ability effectively run the SEC.

Fewer governors have been focusing on pension reform in their state of the state addresses this year, but most who propose reform follow through, according to Loop Capital Markets.

California heads to Wall Street this week to borrow for the first time since the most-populous state earned a credit-rating boost in January, as buyers push its debt close to the strongest in more than four years.

A dozen Senate Democrats and an Independent lawmaker have re-introduced a bill that would impose a minimum 30% tax on high income tax payers who earn more than $1 million as a way to help reduce the ballooning federal deficit.