Far West

After an arena in Washington State defaulted earlier this month, investors still got paid, but it is unclear who made the mistake.

Standard & Poor's said California's midyear budget cuts are a credit positive, but its efforts to improve its budget through those cuts could be undermined if the cuts are thwarted.

Nevada revenue projections came in $21.2 million higher than expected, signaling that the state might not have to take out a $160 million line of credit to balance next year’s budget, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday withdrew its ratings on the Vallejo Unified School District’s general obligation bonds, certificates of obligation, and special tax bonds, citing insufficient information.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has solid early support for his initiative scheduled for the November ballot to temporarily raise sales taxes and taxes on the wealthy.

California Treasurer Bill Lockyer resigned from the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research pension advisory panel in protest over a study it released.

Officials in the troubled Los Angeles-area city of Vernon are contemplating a possible bond issuance, among other remedies, to pay for $60 million in grants for parks and recreational facilities that were agreed to during the legislative session in order to stave off the threat of disincorporation, according to published reports.

Market participants urged the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to broaden the definition of "sophisticated municipal market professional," saying it should include individuals with muni or fixed-income assets of $25 million, or $50 million in munis and other assets, not $50 million in munis, as the board had proposed.

Due to ongoing budgetary uncertainties, the Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking to lead its municipal securities office with a director who does not report directly to SEC chairman Mary Schapiro, as was mandated by the financial reform law enacted last year.

Washington lawmakers are considering a bipartisan plan that would reduce the state's $2 billion budget shortfall by about one-quarter.