Far West

LOS ANGELES - Arne Croce, the recently appointed interim chief administrative officer of the beleaguered city of Bell, a Los Angeles-area working class community of 50,000 residents, has his work cut out for him.

WASHINGTON - State tax revenues continued to rebound in the second quarter but stock market volatility combined with recession jitters in August could affect tax collections in the third quarter, the Rockefeller Institute said Thursday.

The Office of Management and Budget reported Thursday that the federal deficit is expected to be $1.32 trillion in fiscal 2011, down $329 billion from its February estimate, while it projected the unemployment rate could be 9.0% by the end of 2012, based on its mid-session review of President Obama's fiscal 2012 budget.

LOS ANGELES - The San Diego Association of Governments is leaning away from issuing bonds to fund the $345 million purchase of a toll road from a private operator.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Nye County’s limited-tax general obligation debt to A3 from A1, affecting $28.47 million of outstanding bonds.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie has appointed Luis Salaveria as deputy director of the Department of Budget and Finance.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors will vote on Sept. 29 whether to issue $250 million in bonds.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the long-term underlying rating on the Sacramento Transportation Authority’s variable-rate revenue bonds from to Aa3 from Aa2.

Moody’s Investors Services changed its outlook from positive to stable on $100 million of fixed-rate revenue bonds that Chapman University, a private school in Orange County, plans to issue.

An industry group and a consumer group have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise proposed rules governing transactions between swap dealers and customers, arguing the proposal either goes too far and would weaken key issuer protections, or does not go far enough to protect dealers.