Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Moody’s ups
state bond ratings

Standard & Poor's is also
considering an upgrade

---

Bloomberg News

Hawaii received higher ratings from Moody's Investors Service on $3.2 billion of general obligation bonds thanks to its improving economy, fueled partly by tourist visits that are on track to set a record this year.

It's further proof Hawaii is mending after several bumps in the 1990s, when Japan's economic slump and a recession in California hurt tourism and the state's real estate market. Hawaii's unemployment rate, at 6.6 percent in March 1997, dropped to as low as 4 percent this year.

Moody's raised its rating yesterday on Hawaii's general obligation bonds to "Aa3" from "A1," reversing a downgrade in 1998. Hawaii has taken steps to diversify the local economy, but its natural beauty is still a key asset, Moody's said. "This is truly America's only paradise, so tourism will always be king," said Raymond Murphy, a Moody's vice president.

Standard & Poor's also said it's considering upgrading Hawaii general obligations from "A+," citing the economic rebound "from a difficult decade." Fitch Inc. rates the bonds "AA-."