Alaska

Alaska is unlikely to find another good opportunity to issue pension obligation bonds soon after the last-minute halt of a more than $2 billion sale several days ago, the state’s debt manager said.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker called off a planned $2.35 billion sale of pension obligation bonds citing a lack of legislative support.

Alaska’s coming $2.3 billion pension obligation bond deal will drive the Frontier State to another downgrade, but neither that or other recent downgrades is seen as an obstacle to the state’s desired pricing.

S&P Global Ratings said it anticipates lowering Alaska’s various credit ratings one notch after the state closes the pension obligation bond deal it plans this month.

Alaska has authorized up to $3.5 billion of pension obligation bonds it hopes to sell in late October, though a broken office-building lease raised one observer's doubts about the state's willingness to stand behind "subject to appropriation" pledges.

Next month Alaska will pay out some $657 million as part of its annual dividend to its citizens, a drastically reduced amount that Gov. Bill Walker is hoping will hammer home the need for significant fiscal reform in the state.

Weeks after sweeping financial overhauls he advocated failed in the state legislature, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker announced he will travel to Southeast Asia to promote natural gas sales.

Alaska’s ratings have been affirmed and the state is no longer on S&P Global Ratings’ CreditWatch, where it had been placed on review for possible downgrade since June 9.

Providence Health & Services took a one-notch downgrade from Fitch Ratings, ahead of a planned &803 million revenue bond deal for Providence St. Joseph Health.

A report issued by the Alaska governor's office outlines “dire consequences” for the state’s fiscal health if the state's legislature fails to take decisive action.

A sharp rebound in oil prices won't be enough to rescue Alaska from its $3 billion annual spending deficit or protect it from possible further downgrades, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.

Alaska lost its last triple-A rating Tuesday, when Fitch Ratings downgraded the state to AA-plus.

Alaska's legislature passed a budget with a $3.2 billion draw on the state's Constitutional Budget Reserve after rejecting fiscal reforms urged by Gov. Bill Walker.

State budget conditions vary widely as of late fiscal 2016, with the overall picture getting better while states with less diversified economies face significant stress, Standard & Poor's said Wednesday.

Alaska municipalities may bear the brunt of the state’s oil-driven budget crisis.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Alaska to Aa1 from Aaa.

Fitch Ratings has placed Alaska on a negative watch that the agency says should be resolved when the state passes a budget.

Far West issuers sold $83.6 billion of municipal bonds in 2015, a 26.5% increase over the prior year, as refundings continued to drive volume.

The Internal Revenue Service has dropped its audit of Alaska student loan bonds after concluding there were no tax violations warranting any change to the tax-exempt status of the bonds.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker used Thursday night’s State of the State address to make a forceful call for immediate fiscal reforms and new revenue