News and Information from Bond Buyer

The California controller's monthly cash report for February beat the estimates in the governor's proposed budget by $1 billion.

The Missouri Supreme Court took control of Ferguson’s municipal court system Monday in a move that follows a stinging federal report that accused the officials there of abusive practices designed to generate revenue for the court and city coffers.

Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher is calling for Congress to mandate that municipal issuers use Government Accounting Standards Board benchmarks, possibly as a condition for the bonds to be tax-exempt.

The cost of issuing bonds in 2014 was half the amount of five years ago and appears to be the lowest on record, according to the Texas Bond Review Board.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds finished mixed on Tuesday, traders said, with yields on some longer-dated maturities down by as much as two basis points. In the primary, the state of New York and the city of Boston sold deals in the competitive arena while Barclays Capital priced a University of California Regents’ offering for retail investors as RBC Capital Markets priced a New York City deal for retail buyers.

Moody's Investors Service confirmed its A3 rating for Marysville, Calif.'s $12.7 million in sewer revenue bonds Monday following the completion of a review for downgrade.

The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency hired John Markowitz as vice president for infrastructure finance to expand its investment banking team's infrastructure financing capabilities.

Moody's revised methodology for utility credits has resulted in Merced County Regional Waste Management Authority, Calif.'s Baa3 rating being placed under review for upgrade.

The National Governors Association has written to House Speaker John Boehner to correct what it calls a "misunderstanding" underlying a recent draft online sales tax proposal made by House Judiciary Committee chair, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.

The Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission is selling $158 million of power refunding bonds tied to the controversial Prairie State coal plant, which recently won a round of fresh praise from ratings analysts.

Increasing the federal gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon to generate enough revenue to fully fund a multiyear federal transportation bill could, in turn, be offset by a 2% drop in the top margin income tax rate, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation said in a recent report.

Florida Gulf Coast University's credit outlook stabilized Monday when two rating agencies found that recent modifications to the terms of a direct bank loan lessened the institution's contingent risk.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District would like to ask voters next year to support $919 million in new borrowing for wastewater projects and to revamp its stormwater fee structure.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $24 billion of three-year notes with a 1% coupon at a 1.104% yield, a price of 99.694198.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned its AA-plus rating to New York state general obligation bonds in its first ever rating of the Empire State.

The Internal Revenue Service has begun auditing limited-tax general obligation, medium-term street bonds issued by Reno, Nev., in 2009.

Prices of top-rated municipal bonds were stronger at mid-session, traders said, with yields on some maturities down by as much as two basis points.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term rating to A from A-minus on Harris County Water Control & Improvement District (WCID) No. 96, Texas' general obligation debt.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $40 billion of four-week bills at a 0.015% high yield, a price of 99.998833.

Groups ranging from doctors to truckers to mayors have voiced opposition to a proposed shift from a 7% sales tax to a 16% value added tax, part of an overhaul that would also slash income taxes and eliminate a corporate receipts tax paid by large companies.