State, municipalities face higher borrowing costs from falling credit ratings

Standard & Poor’s lowered Alaska’s credit rating this week. (Creative Commons photo by eflon)Alaska’s credit was downgraded by two rating agencies in the past week. The state had the highest possible rating at the beginning of last year. But the Legislature failed to pass a plan to balance future state budgets for two straight years, which has contributed to the downgrades.
Alaska’s credit rating comes into play when the state issues bonds to pay for infrastructure. F