SACRAMENTO -- A second Wall Street rating agency cut California's
bond rating to near junk-bond status Thursday, even as Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger said he would use his emergency powers to cut the
budget to send more money to cities and counties.
Fitch Ratings lowered the state's bond rating three notches, from
A to BBB. Anything below BBB- is considered to be below investment
grade, or "junk bonds."
The service also put the state on a "rating watch," meaning an
additional downgrade is likely within months.
Its decision Thursday affects nearly $30 billion in general
obligation bonds as well as obligations issued by several state and
local building and financing authorities, though it ...