Far West

Louisiana's entire congressional delegation and the Mississippi treasurer are urging the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to issue guidance allowing Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds to be issued after the year ends to refund previously issued GO Zone bonds on a tax-exempt basis.

WASHINGTON - A dealer group blasted recent criticism of underwriters Wednesday, saying it is unaware of broker-dealers urging municipal issuers not to engage financial advisors, or only to work with dealer-FAs.

CHICAGO - The U.S. market for public-private partnerships remains small and fragmented, marred by hurdles like clashing legislation and political controversy, in contrast to Canada and Europe, panelists said at The Bond Buyer's Transportation/P3 Conference here.

SAN FRANCISCO - California will likely face a deficit of almost $13 billion in the next fiscal year, according to a revenue forecast released Wednesday by the Legislative Analyst's Office.

CHICAGO - With federal funding and gasoline tax revenue falling far short of meeting demand for transportation infrastructure, sector participants need to do a better job selling the public and political leaders on the perks of investment and the pitfalls of inaction.

SAN FRANCISCO - After trailing in election-night counts, a sales tax measure in Vallejo, Calif., meant to help the beleaguered city restore services has mounted a comeback in late vote tallies to take a slim lead with ballots left to be counted.

WASHINGTON - UBS Financial Services Inc. was fined $300,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for failing to supervise and prevent excessive cross-trading of municipal securities between the customer accounts of one broker for a two-year period.

SAN FRANCISCO - California's Department of Finance said Monday that state revenues continue to slip compared to budget forecasts, leading the Golden State closer to mid-year budget cuts.

WASHINGTON - Starting Monday, two of the three major rating agencies will post muni bond ratings for free on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA web site, the MSRB said Monday.

Montebello, a Los Angeles-area city that has been the subject of multiple investigations and audits, issued $2.5 million of tax and revenue anticipation notes at a 4.85% interest rate Thursday.