Fitch Rates $300MM Illinois GO Bonds 'AA'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. assigns an 'AA' rating to approximately $300 million State of Illinois general obligation bonds (GOs), series of September 2005. The bonds, maturing Sept. 1, 2006-2030, will sell competitively on Sept. 22. Fitch also affirms the 'AA' rating of $19.7 billion outstanding Illinois GOs. Illinois' 'AA' rating reflects its broad economy, which is now recovering from recession, above-average debt levels inclusive of inclusive of prep. Taking into consideration or account; including. pension bonds, and constrained finances marked by pension and Medicaid funding pressures. In recent years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time state's restraint in capital and operating spending and actions to address some current liabilities Current Liabilities Usually appearing on a company's balance sheet, it represents the amount owed for interest, accounts payable, short-term loans, expenses incurred but unpaid, and other debts due within one year. have supported its credit in the face of economic and fiscal pressure. Following three years of employment losses, Illinois' economy slowly began to gain jobs again in mid-2004, although annual employment was slightly down over 2003. Growth has gradually accelerated in 2005, and August employment was 0.7% above August 2004. Manufacturing, still nearly 12% of the workforce, continues to decline, down 0.8% from last year. Service sectors are again showing good growth. State employment figures mirror those of the Chicago area, which has 65% of the state's workforce. Through the first quarter of 2005, personal income has been growing at below the national rate. Per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. personal income in Illinois is 104% of the U.S., ranking the state 14th. As the economy has improved, so have state revenue collections. Fiscal 2005 revenues were 5.8% above 2004, with net individual income tax up 11.5% and sales taxes up 4.2%. Cash balances, including the stabilization fund Stabilization fund may refer to:
See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). general fund balance deficit, which equaled $2.5 billion, or 9.5% of annual revenues, at the end of fiscal 2004, improved from $4.2 billion deficit in the prior year. Authorized fiscal 2006 spending is 2.3% above fiscal 2005, although this austere growth rate was largely achieved through reduced pension payments. Total resources are projected to grow 3.2%, using conservatively projected income tax growth of 3.3% and sales tax growth of 3.4%. The pension bonds, issued in 2003, increased the state's tax-supported debt to an above-average level. Tax-supported debt, at $23.1 billion, equals 5.3% of personal income. Excluding pension debt not used for fiscal 2003 and 2004 budget purposes, debt equals a more modest 3.5% of personal income. Still, one of the state's challenges remains the funding of its pensions. As of June 30, 2004, unfunded accrued actuarial liability was $35.1 billion, resulting in a 60.9% funded ratio. The pension act which passed earlier this year reduced the state's unfunded liability through benefit reforms. The law also placed a moratorium on new benefits without identified funding and established a taskforce, including labor, to recommend further measures. However, much of the positive actuarial benefits of the reforms were spent for fiscal 2006 and 2007 budget relief, as only $3.3 billion was appropriated for pensions in those years, down from the $5.6 billion previously required. Nevertheless, the net effect of the state's actions was to modestly reduce both the unfunded liabilities and future required payments. Following the changes, state payments (including pension debt service) are less than previously required, but nevertheless still must rise from the $1.43 billion appropriated in fiscal 2006 to $2.7 billion in 2008 and $3.8 billion by 2010. This rate of growth far exceeds expected revenue growth, and presents a significant challenge to Illinois. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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