Washington

It's Moody's first upgrade of the state since 1997.

Issuers in the nine-state Far West region sold $34.6 billion of municipal bonds in 2019's first six months.

RBC Capital Markets added Ian Parker as it positions itself to help issuers bring to market billions of dollars in authorized affordable housing debt.

This week's deal will prime the pump for another $2.5 billion in loans Freddie Mac plans to securitize in the next two to three years.

The region's 2018 new money bond sales were up 2% year-over-year, but refundings fell 57%.

Duane Davidson recommended more use of pay-go financing, instead of borrowing, in the state's debt affordablity report.

Attention in the municipal bond market turns westward as some of the week's biggest deals will be coming from Hawaii, Washington state and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Buyers will see the biggest issuance week of the year as $7.2 billion of deals will hit the screens.

Voters could experience déjà vu when they open their ballots for the February special election, which are scheduled to be mailed Friday.

On Election Day, almost 59% of Ferndale, Wash., voters said that they'd be willing to raise property taxes to finance $112 million in bonds to build a new high school and finance other educational projects.

The state Supreme Court upheld the use of state lottery funds for charter schools.