Posted on 03/19/2009 8:07:15 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Fitch Ratings downgraded California's general obligation bond rating Thursday due to concerns about the state's economy and ongoing budget problems, likely raising costs for taxpayers and dampening demand for $4 billion in bonds the state intends to sell next week.
California's bond rating now ranks lowest among the 50 states, according to Fitch. The announcement came days before State Treasurer Bill Lockyer plans a bond sale starting next Wednesday to replenish the state's Pooled Money Investment Account and enable the state to begin paying out $500 million to projects that desperately need public funding to continue.
Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar on Thursday used strong language to criticize ratings agencies for their downgrades.
"The ratings agencies have no credibility," Dresslar said. "They colluded with AIG and other titans of finance, and now they're screwing California taxpayers for a problem they helped create. We're going to sell $4 billion in California bonds next week and get the best possible deal for taxpayers, regardless of what they think of our creditworthiness. We've never defaulted on our bonds and no investor has ever failed to get what was owed to them on general-obligation bonds."
Fitch Ratings downgraded California's general-obligation bond rating from A+ to A, which likely means the state will have to offer more attractive rates and could preclude some investors from purchasing the bonds, said Alex Anderson, portfolio manager of Los Angeles-based Envision Capital Management. Fitch had California on a negative ratings watch since early last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Liberals love blaming others for their own failings... and making them pay for it too.
I was just going to post this. Too funny!
Lockyer and his cronies have helped run the state into the ground but now this downgrade is just some massive plot by Fitch and AIG? How does he explain the S&P rating last month? I guess he was just snoozing through that negative ratings watch last year. What part of “structural imbalance” does Lockyer not get? If he wanted to raise capital on the cheap, he’d be championing spending cuts.
I guess he’s too busy raising his kid with his MALDEF wifey.
Advocates for environmental groups, local governments and affordable housing testified that their projects could fail without an infusion of state money.
This is Good News!! The sooner they fail the better.
Starve the beast!
Hey everybody! Look what this here “eyeamok” person just said!! We’re on the cusp of great news!!!
This is just in time for the radio/media blitz about how great California is and California’s new pending junk bond sale to pay for our new break the taxpayer budget.
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There is always a first time.
Anyone watching the House hearings with all of the various agencies before Barney Frank...?
Daley To Feds: Stop Prosecuting Corruption & Perjury Cases
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The outcome of the House hearing...really is asking these various enforcement agencies to submit their request for budget amounts to add more lawyers and investigators to prosecute white collar "crimes"...
I got even more news for ya... WE’RE BEING RULED (AND RUINED) BY RADICALS!!!
And Pelosi is out recruting for more to come from the South.
Yep. The media blitz will be for the May election. Just "vote for _______ and all the problems will be solved." Sure am glad we voted in that Prop 57/58 so that state government "could never borrow again"!
I think that is the three "R"s that they now teach in grade school (a literal "how to").
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