Penelope Lemov is a GOVERNING correspondent. She was GOVERNING's health columnist and was senior editor for several award-winning features.
E-mail: plemov@governing.comTwitter: @governing
Finance
A Mixed Picture
Bond rating experts at odds on state of states
There's good news and bad news from two of the major credit rating agencies--only it's about the same situation. While both agencies note improvements in state revenue collections, they assess the effect of the recovery on state creditworthiness differently.
Moody's Investors Service reports that, of the state and local governments they rate, upgrades as measured by dollar amounts significantly outweighed downgrades in the first quarter of 2004--a sharp reversal of recent trends. According to a report on first- quarter activity, the agency considered the stabilization of state credit quality a reflection of improving revenues and economic conditions and expects more upgrades than downgrades ahead. That said, Moody's went on to note that "many states and municipalities remain vulnerable until financial reserves notably improve."
Standard & Poor's had a different take. Of the states and localities they rate, the par amount of downgrades was greater than the par amount of upgrades--$20 billion versus $14 billion. In addition, the pace of upgrades slowed, with upgrades lagging downgrades in the tax- backed sector 69 to 88, respectively. "Credit concerns still loom in many sectors," their report on the first quarter noted, "with many entities facing ongoing challenges, such as rising health care and pension costs, at a time when reserve levels are lower, and revenue growth may be difficult to attain."
The mixed picture reflects an April survey from the National Conference of State Legislatures that found 32 states were able to finish their 2004 fiscal year with surpluses but that most of those surpluses were small and tax revenues were not growing fast enough to offset rapidly rising costs.
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe for updates.
Twitter: @governing
Latest from Finance
- Homeowner Bill of Rights to Become Law in Minnesota
- Minnesota homeowners facing foreclosure will soon get added protections under a bill Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign into law.
- Miami Commission Considers Different Pension Rules for Executives
- Miami city commissioners, who in recent years have cut severance pay and pensions to balance budgets, could vote Tuesday to allow four of the city's highest earners to return from retirement and collect their pension on top of their hefty salary.
- Oklahoma Tornado Damage Could Reach $2 Billion
- Up to 13,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by Monday's tornado that may have caused up $2 billion in damages, nearly double earlier estimates.
- Arkansas Treasurer Resigns
- State Treasurer Martha Shoffner resigned a day after appearing in federal court to face an extortion charge.
- Colorado's New School Finance Law Depends on Tax Vote
- Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law a new school finance bill that would change the way the state doles out money for education — but only if taxpayers pass an estimated $1 billion tax increase.
Jobs in Finance
Browse thousands of available finance jobs. Find a finance job with detailed, free information on key career areas in finance. Or post a job.
View or Post Finance Jobs
Finance Newsletter
Our monthly email newsletter provides an exclusive review of issues relating to financing of government operations, including taxation and revenue, budget policy, bond financing and public pensions (monthly).
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
Flickr
RSS
© 2011 e.Republic, Inc. All Rights reserved. |