Far West

SAN FRANCISCO — California Controller John Chiang delivered a rare piece of good news this week in his monthly general fund cash report, saying the state beat its budget ­estimates for October.

WASHINGTON — State budget cuts will cause a drop of nearly one percentage point in the gross domestic product in fiscal year 2011 unless the federal government extends its aid to states beyond Dec. 31, 2010, when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act programs expire, economists and budget analysts warned yesterday.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has entered negotiations with the San Diego Chargers in hopes of reaching a stadium deal that would keep the National Football League team in the city.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd yesterday unveiled a massive draft regulatory reform bill that envisions a more independent and powerful Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

WASHINGTON — The top lawyer for the House’s tax-writing committee said yesterday that it is a given the Build America Bonds program will be extended beyond its current deadline at the end of 2010 and that there is a strong argument for it to be made permanent as soon as possible.

WASHINGTON — Market participants are pushing for states or the federal government to take a “programmatic” rather than a piecemeal or project-by-project approach to financing infrastructure through public-private partnerships.

SAN FRANCISCO — Voters in Washington State last week rejected a ballot measure to limit governments’ revenue growth, while voters in Seattle split nearly down the middle in trying to pick their next mayor.

David Rubin, founder of CDR Financial Products Inc., and two colleagues on Friday pleaded not guilty to criminal antitrust, wire fraud and other charges stemming from an alleged conspiracy to rig bids for municipal investment agreements and derivatives contracts for kickbacks.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department Friday rejected a proposal for Fannie Mae to sell $2.6 billion, or roughly half, of its unused low-income housing tax credits to two unidentified investors believed to be Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

WASHINGTON — The Regional Bond Dealers Association has retained the law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP to help it develop legislative and regulatory strategies and proposals for municipal bonds and fixed-income products. The group plans to hire two lobbyists and policy analysts later this year, Mike Nicholas, RBDA’s chief executive officer said yesterday.