Far West

WASHINGTON — States are likely to increase debt issuance to plug operating budget shortfalls as federal aid declines and their tax revenues lag the economic recovery, Standard & Poor’s said yesterday in a report.

Louisiana disclosed this week that it has been providing information to the Internal Revenue Service for the last 13 months as part of an ongoing audit of $650 million of general obligation refunding bonds it sold in 2005.

The Obama administration and Senate Democrats yesterday urged senators to come to an agreement on broad financial regulatory reform this week, while the most moderate Republican on the issue argued that negotiations should go on for at least another three or four weeks before a bill is considered on the Senate floor.

WASHINGTON — Real estate investment trusts could be the next frontier for infrastructure financing, according to a report released yesterday by Deloitte LLP, a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss association. But legislation is needed to clarify questions of eligibility if public-sector entities want to secure REIT investments, the report said.

SAN FRANCISCO — Fitch Ratings downgraded $3.4 billion of Los Angeles debt because policymakers in the second-biggest U.S. city have failed to balance its budget and plan to drain its reserves.

WASHINGTON — Swap dealers that pitch to, advise, or enter into swap agreements with states, localities, and public pension funds would have a “fiduciary duty” to put the interests of those entities first, under legislation released Friday afternoon by Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Blanche Lincoln.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s board approved an electricity rate increase, accepting a smaller-than-requested hike to end a standoff with the Los Angeles City Council.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders proposed a $1.1 billion fiscal 2011 general fund budget that would close a $28.2 million deficit.

Clean water state revolving funds may increasingly be used to purchase land due to the Obama administration’s focus on “green” or alternative infrastructure investments, market participants said Friday as the president launched a major conservation initiative.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York attorney general reached settlement agreements with investment adviser Quadrangle Group LLC and others for allegedly engaging in pay-to-play practices with state officials and their consultants to obtain investment business from New York’s pension fund.