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SACRAMENTO

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From Times staff reports

State to Issue Debt: California on Wednesday will sell $4 billion in revenue anticipation warrants, or RAWs, that will mature in April, 1996. The mammoth debt offering, to be followed by a $3-billion offering of 11-month notes on July 27, will allow the state to close its huge budget gap temporarily without additional cuts in services. The RAWs are expected to yield at least 4.5% annualized, and the interest is exempt from federal and state income taxes--which means the true yield will be much higher, especially for high-income Californians. The debt offering comes on the heels of Friday’s much-anticipated downgrading of the state’s credit rating by leading bond-rating services. The downgrading applies only to the state’s long-term debt, however. The bulk of the RAWs, which are guaranteed by a syndicate of major banks, will carry the highest credit ratings.

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