Far West

The Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled a conference call with reporters at 11 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the agency's long-anticipated report on the municipal securities market.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced it will begin a multi-month review of muni bond indexes with the aim of increasing transparency and educating market participants about how the they are developed and used.

The IRS has closed an audit without changing the tax-exempt status of $43.45 million of Series 2006 general obligation refunding bonds that were issued by the St. Vrain Valley, Colo., School District in April 2006.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is encouraging states and cities to submit letters of interest for an available $1.7 billion under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan program, which LaHood said could ultimately help leverage $50 billion in transportation investment.

The city council of El Monte, Calif. voted Tuesday to declare a fiscal emergency and place a tax on sugary drinks on the November ballot in an effort to shore up its finances.

Moody's Investors Service Monday downgraded $4.9 million of Compton, Calif. sewer revenue bonds five notches to Ba1 from A2 due to the city's severe cash crisis.

Moody's Investors Service Wednesday affirmed its A1 rating on $90 billion of California general obligation bonds.

Fitch Ratings completed its review last week of 62 ratings of tax allocation bonds issued by 36 former California redevelopment agencies, culminating in downgrades for 12 of the credits.

The California secondary market remains mostly steady to strong as high-profile local municipal bankruptices unfold, but it has not been without some minor turbulence, according to municipal experts.

Amtrak's roughly $7 billion master plan for a complete overhaul of Washington D.C.'s Union Station will likely involve a large collaborative effort mixing public and private funding sources, according to a company spokesman and industry experts.