Far West

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Bond Lawyers is warning the Securities and Exchange Commission that applying its asset-backed securities rules to municipal bonds, as proposed, would violate existing law and run contrary to congressional intent.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Washington state economist Arun Raha made life difficult for state budget writers last week by cutting more than $1 billion from his forecast for general fund revenue.

California, New York, and Illinois are making a play for more than $1.2 billion of high-speed rail funding that was awarded to two Midwestern states whose Republican governors-elect plan to reject the grants.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Facing soaring yields in the tax-exempt bond market, California chopped more than $1 billion from its tax-exempt debt plans for next week, while upsizing today’s Build America Bond pricing by $750 million.

States and localities pay for a much larger share of transportation and water infrastructure projects than the federal government, but in recent years the total amount of money spent on these projects by all levels of government has declined significantly, according to a 62-page report issued this week by the Congressional Budget Office.

WASHINGTON — Henry T.C. Hu, the head of a relatively new risk division at the Securities and Exchange Commission who provided analysis on municipal and other financial markets, plans to leave the SEC and return to the University of Texas early next year, the commission announced Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Vallejo City Council members are weighing a contentious budget plan as the California city struggles to emerge from Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A lawsuit filed Tuesday by opponents of California’s plans to sell 11 state office buildings for one-time revenue resulted in a one-day delay to the state’s plans to sell $12 billion of notes and bonds this week.

SAN FRANCISCO — Moody’s Investors Service Wednesday downgraded San Francisco’s general obligation rating to Aa2 from Aa1, mainly due to the city’s weak short-term finances.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed guidance for broker’s brokers would force them to go beyond the board’s existing rules, would be inconsistent with their limited roles in the market, and would impede the efficiency of the interdealer market, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association warned the MSRB this week.