California

SAN FRANCISCO - California plunged into a hungry market this week with its first general obligation bond sale of the year, grabbing yields far below its most recent sale last year.

A series of putable floating option tax-exempt receipts issued by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was placed on short-term negative rating watch by Fitch Ratings in the wake of Moody’s Investors Service downgrade Wednesday’s of Bank of America.

Los Angeles and Pasadena financial officials filed disclosure notices about the potential impact that Moody’s Investors Service’s downgrade of Bank of America could have on bonds issued by their cities.

A drop in assessed values in Cathedral City, a desert city near Palm Springs, resulted in multi-notch downgrades by Standard & Poor’s on the Cathedral City Public Financing Authority’s merged project area tax-allocation bonds.

California Gov. Jerry Brown is weighing one bill that secures bondholders if a hospital declares bankruptcy, and has already signed another that proponents said could help corporate investment in municipal bonds.

August tax revenue in California came in $65 million below a budget forecast of $6.23 billion, according to the Department of Finance.

The San Diego Chargers are getting pushback from officials on a proposal to combine the city's plans for a new $550 million convention center with plans for a $800 million football stadium.

SAN FRANCISCO - Moody's Investors Service downgraded California Housing Finance Agency home mortgage revenue bonds for the second time this year, affecting $5 billion of debt amid the frail state housing market.

SAN DIEGO - Though municipal bankruptcies may never become widespread, industry insiders warned during The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference more will come because of the pressure on local governments.

CARLSBAD, Calif. - The air of uncertainty surrounding California's redevelopment agencies and their bonds is not likely to be resolved until early next year, according to panelists who spoke Thursday at The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference.

CARLSBAD, Calif. - With low volume and demand lacking in the face paltry yields, the municipal market must tackle structural problems, according to industry insiders at The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference.

The California Department of Water Resources plans to issue an undetermined amount of revenue bonds for its Central Valley Project Water System on Oct. 6, according to the state treasurer’s office.

California priced $5.4 billion of revenue anticipation notes a day ahead of schedule Wednesday, after getting retail orders for more than 65% of the deal, according to the state treasurer’s office.

California Controller John Chiang said August revenues came in 2.1% or $134.9 million above projections in the recently passed budget.

The California State University system will sell $430 million of revenue bonds on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO - California lawmakers passed a slew of bills last week that could have an impact on public finance if Gov. Jerry Brown signs them.

LOS ANGELES - California legislators approved a special audit of corruption-plagued Vernon at the request of Sen. Kevin de León.

SAN FRANCISCO - As California emerges from its debt doldrums this month with expected sales of $8 billion of short- and long-term debt, investors are eager for the fresh yield the state will add to a stagnant market.

LOS ANGELES - California's statewide property tax roll rose by 0.3% this year after experiencing two years of declining assessed values, according to a report released by a state agency.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is already trying to tackle a $23 million annual budget deficit, according to local press reports.