SECURITIES

Investors Snap Up California Offering: Despite deep concerns about the state’s budget situation, buyers accepted a relatively low yield of 2.50% on $3 billion worth of two-month, tax-free notes--the taxable equivalent of a 3.79% yield. That’s because California arranged an innovative financing plan that reassured investors about its ability to pay money owed on the notes. About $1 billion of the California notes, priced by a group of underwriters led by Lehman Bros. Inc., were bought by individual investors, with the remainder purchased by institutional investors.